And it all Falls Apart
by A chaotic person
Summary: Jack Overland was doing perfectly fine until an odd group shows up and decides that Burgess is a good place to settle for a few weeks. The problem? They seem interested in Jack- too interested. As the group attempts to get close to Jack, he tries to figure out what they're up to, while simultaneously keeping his secrets. Fantasy Au.
1. Chapter 1: Strange Strangers

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

This was most certainly _not_ a good situation to be in.

Jack casually took a sip from the flask he always carried, doing his best to look inconspicuous. He nervously eyed the group that just walked in.

It was a group of four, and all so different. One was short, one tall, one buff, and one petite girl. It was obvious just by looking at them they hailed from different places, none of which could be around here. Few thing brought people far out of their homelands, and even fewer kept a group of obviously different people together.

Jack wiped off a glass, turning to put it on the shelf behind him. His shift ended soon, then he'd be able to leave, and there would be slim chance these travelers would stay in Burgess long, it was mostly a town that people came to so they could re-stock supplies.

Wiping off another glass, he saw the largest in the strange group, a man with a white beard and too much enthusiasm for Jack's taste, lean forwards over the counter and say something to Jack's boss. Getting a room for the night, no doubt. The man said something else, and then he and his companions made their way over to a table and sat down.

Jack was putting the fourth glass away when his boss, known to Jack as Mr. Herke, came over to him.

"Jack." Mr. Herke waited until Jack looked up. "I know you're almost done, but if you could get room 14 and 15 ready for guests, that would be wonderful."

Jack bobbed his head, finished polishing the last glass, and went into one of the back rooms to get some linens. He grabbed the keys to the two rooms and headed up the back stairs, meant for those who did room keeping. He wasn't a room keeper, it had been decided he was better up front, but he was the only one on shift right now.

Unlocking room 14, he noticed that it connected to room 15. Shrugging, Jack set most of the linens down on a chair, before starting to put pillow cases on the pillows lying on top of one bed. He finished the two beds in that room, before doing the same to room 15.

Humming under his breath, Jack had forgotten about the group of people until he walked downstairs and noticed them. It wouldn't be a problem, he assured himself. They would be gone by morning; Burgess was too unassuming for them to stay.

Jack grabbed his cloak, which hung by the back door to the Inn, and nodded to Mary, one of the others who worked at the Inn.

"My shift is over; Mary is here, am I dismissed?" Jack asked Mr. Herke, who nodded.

"Don't forget, you have a double shift on tomorrow!" Mr. Herke called after him as he left.

Jack just nodded lazily, though he knew the man couldn't see him anymore.

Passing through the town and nodding at people he knew, Jack walked home. Jack and his family lived on the outskirts of town, by the lake. They preferred to use the lake for their water much of the time, even though most people preferred the river.

When he arrived at the house, he noticed Emma was outside, drawing something in the dirt with a stick.

"Jack!" she cried out when she noticed him, promptly dropping her stick and racing to him. Laughing, he picked her up and twirled her around.

"Emma!" he said dramatically after setting her down. "It's been too long! How have you been?"

"Jack!" she giggled. "I saw you this morning, remember?"

Jack gasped as they entered the house. "You did? I'm quite sure I would have remembered seeing you. I must not have!"

Emma shoved him. "Yes, you did! You said that you would be back a little later tonight since Mary would be late and you'd have to cover her. Remember now?"

Jack feigned confusion, rubbing his chin as he sat on one of the two chairs in the 'sitting' room. "Why, no!" He glanced down at her face, which was rather irritated at the moment. "And," he continued, in a superior tone. "Since I don't remember it, I must not have seen you this morning, for my memory is perfect!"

"Jaaaaaack! Your memory is not perfect, you're just tricking me!" She stomped her foot, the perfect picture of frustration. "You can't even remember how to play hopscotch!" Emma huffed, nodding her head like she'd won.

"Oh?" Jack raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious now. "What makes you say that?"

"You always change the rules, which means you don't remember them!" She beamed at him. "So there!"

"Alright." He smiled at her, and rose from his seat. "You win this time, silly."

Jack walked into the kitchen, where dinner was being prepared. Unlike her daughter, Mrs. Overland preferred to keep her brown hair short and out of the way. "Any trouble today?" she asked, mostly out of habit. Jack did have a tendency to get into trouble.

"Not on my part." He replied, reaching for the knife to slice some bread. "There was an odd group though. Could mean… trouble."

On the outside, Mrs. Overland appeared unconcerned with the news as she nodded, but Jack could tell she knew what he meant, and that she _was_ worried.

"I'm certain it'll be fine." He said lightly, no need for two of them to be nervous about the travelers, after all.

"They'll only be here for the night."

* * *

 **A/N: So, this is my first attempt at a long story, I'd like to know how it is so far. I only have vague plans at the moment, so suggested things may actually happen. Reviews are appreciated. How did I do?Are the characters OOC? Please let me know of any mistakes you notice, criticism helps me grow as a writer!**


	2. Chapter 2: Strange Strangers Stay

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

Jack rose earlier than usual, and didn't take his time like he usually did. He didn't have extra time, not with the double shift at the Inn. Mr. Herke was patient and understanding, but he didn't accept tardiness for no reason.

Dressing in his usual pants and vest, he didn't bother to leave a note for Mrs. Overland. No need to waste paper on something she already knew. He grabbed his cloak and flask, filling the flask with water and a drop of something else. He took enough money to be able to buy a few apples for lunch and one for breakfast before putting some worn shoes on and exiting the house.

Jack passed through the market, which was just being set up for the day, on his way to the Inn. He thanked Mrs. Bennett for the extra apple she tossed at him, saying cheekily, "I needed a knock on the head to wake me up!"

Hanging up his cloak as he walked into the back of the Inn, Jack checked in with Mr. Herke, who told him to stay at the counter and take orders; there had apparently been more people than usual.

Jack pondered the reason for extra people as he took orders and delivered them when they were done. Christmas had passed weeks ago, so it wouldn't be the travelers rush. Whatever the reason, Jack decided, it was none of his business.

Half an hour after Jack started, things had died down a bit. Jack hadn't seen the odd group, so they must have left before he came. If they were still here, Jack mused, that would mean they didn't plan on leaving soon. But a group like them would have no reason to stay, so he worked the next half hour with relief.

Relief that was shattered when the shortest of the odd group, a small man with blond hair that stuck up everywhere came downstairs. He had a sleepy demeanor about him, as though he did not particularly wish to be awake yet.

 _They hadn't left._

The little man walked in front of Jack, and passed him a piece of paper. Carefully, so the man wouldn't see Jack's distress, he took the paper.

Jack blinked when he saw that it was an order, but the man had wandered to a table in the corner before he could ask. Jack gave the order to the cook, and waited, keeping an eye on the blond man.

 _Why are they still here?_ Jack thought furiously. _They couldn't have caught on. It will be fine, it will be fine, it will be…_

Jack's thoughts were interrupted when the petite girl, who was also part of the now _considerably_ more dangerous group, came downstairs, though with more cheer than her blond companion.

She was in front of him in a flash, and Jack just had time to register her nearly-black hair, her tanned skin, and her violet eyes before she was shooting her order at him.

 _Violet eyes?_

"If I could get maybe some toast with butter and a glass of milk that would be wonderful, thank you!"

He relayed the message to the cook, before pouring both her milk and the short man's water and taking it to the table in the corner.

When he set the man's water down, he nodded at Jack in thanks, apparently only paying half of his attention to the dark-haired girl, who was talking a mile a minute.

"-Except that wouldn't make sense, and I told him so, but he had the _nerve_ to-"

Returning to his position, Jack noticed the other two men from the group, the large one and the tall one. Their orders were taken to the cook, and Jack picked up the blond man's order, as well as the dark-haired girl's.

Approaching the table, he heard another snippet of speech, though not from the girl. It was the grumpy tall man who was speaking, and the words made Jack even more anxious for the group to leave town.

"-Might not even be here, but I suppose time will-"

"Thank you so much!" The petite girl chirped, cutting the grumpy one off. The sleepy man gave him a thumbs up.

It didn't sound like they planned on leaving soon. That was… not good news for Jack. In a daze, he got the other two orders to the table, each time he approached the table someone's words were cut off. Whatever they were doing here was secret, which made the travelers that much more dangerous.

Jack couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as, an hour later, the group left the Inn. That wasn't really good, he thought as he cleaned dishes next to Adam, who technically was supposed to be the only one on kitchen duty, but Jack didn't have anything better to do. Leaving the Inn meant the group was exploring the town.

Jack just hoped they would be back before his lunch break, otherwise he might run into them.

* * *

 **A/N: So I got another chapter done. For those interested, updates will be sporadic, no set schedule. Anyway, tell me how this chapter is, what I need to improve upon and what I'm doing fine on.**


	3. Chapter 3: Contact Made

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

On the bright side, Jack didn't run into the group. Unfortunately, they ran into him.

"Let me help! I really am quite sorry, um?" It was the petite girl who'd knocked him over with surprising strength.

"No no, it's fine, don't worry about it." Jack said as he picked up his flask that had fallen off when he fell. He slung the strap under his vest, the flask resting at his hip.

"No! I'll make it up to you, Mr.?" She was frantic, but Jack just wanted her to stop, so he could be unnoticeable, invisible again.

"It really is fine." He avoided the obvious prompt for his name.

The girl turned to Mrs. Bennett. "I'll pay for his apples, if that's okay."

Jack suppressed a groan. Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? "You really don't have to…"

"Jackson," Mrs. Bennett scolded. Jack winced, he hated being called Jackson. "If the lady wishes to pay, then let her." She eyed him. "You would do the same, so don't try and stop someone else."

Jack frowned at her. Mrs. Bennett was a good friend of Mrs. Overland, as were her two children, but that meant she knew him well enough that she knew that would work. He sighed. "Yes, Mrs. Bennett." His frown turned into a mock-glare. "And don't call me Jackson!"

The dark haired girl watched the exchange quietly, but Jack remembered her (rather unfortunate) presence when she handed over a few coins. She smiled at Jack brightly, and he was once again struck by the unnatural violet color of her eyes.

"Here you are!" she offered him the apples with enthusiasm. "I am sorry about knocking you over; I wasn't watching where I was going." She laughed. "Anyway, I'm Tiana! It's nice to meet you, Jack, was it?"

He considered the hand she offered. "It's a pleasure." He said, eventually shaking her hand. "I must be going," he said nervously, edging away. "My lunch break is almost over, so bye!"

And with that, Jack took off. Hopefully that would be as much contact as he would come into with her, or her companions, and then they would leave. Jack nodded fervently as he took a bite of one of his apples. It would be a good day when they left Burgess.

* * *

"It's too bad that he couldn't stay and talk more." Mrs. Bennett said to Tiana as the two of them watched Jack run in the direction of the Inn. "He's generally very welcoming to people who decide to stay a few extra days. Oh well. I assume I'll be seeing you again, dear?"

"Yes." Tiana said delicately, still looking in the direction Jack had gone, even though he was well out of sight. "We are going to stay in town for a week, at least. Goodbye, Mrs. Bennett!"

Tiana walked away from the apple stall, waving to the woman behind it. She managed to find her other companions; they were stopped at a blanket stall.

"-Nice, would last long time! How much you say they were?"

Tiana stayed silent until the exchange was done. She had to agree with North, though. They were finely-made blankets that looked warm, and they would surely last a while. Good qualities, since both herself and Aster preferred the warmth over cold.

"So, Tooth, you find anything?" North asked her, tucking away the blankets in a bag he had brought to the market.

"Well," she started slowly. "The woman who sells apples, Mrs. Bennett, was very nice." She paused.

"And?" Bunny inquired. "You only slow down when there's important information."

"Yes," Tooth nodded. "I also met a boy, and-"

She didn't get farther than that, because the blond man elbowed her playfully, grinning at her suggestively.

"Not like that, Sandy! Moon above, no!" Tooth pressed a hand to her face, embarrassed. "I only met him because I ran into him, and payed for his apples after." She frowned. "He was very stubborn about not letting me pay, almost got away with it, but Mrs. Bennett intervened."

"Alright, so?" Bunny said. "This is important how, exactly?"

Shooting a sharp glare at Bunny, Tooth continued. "He also avoided telling me his name; it was Mrs. Bennett who let slip his name was Jackson." She smiled for a second. "Apparently, he goes by Jack."

It had the intended effect. Everyone payed attention then, and Sandy gestured for her to continue. "I think so. It was the person who behind the counter this morning."

"Brown hair?" North asked, sounding a little surprised. "A little plain looking. Are you sure?"

"Yes." Tooth nodded. "He had some kind of flask."

"We'll do some investigatin'." Bunny said. North looked irritated Bunny had said it first, but agreed nonetheless.

"It shouldn't be too hard." Tooth said brightly. "Mrs. Bennett said he's rather sociable."

* * *

She was trying to talk to him again, but this time, her companions were there too. Trying not to show outwards signs of distress, Jack set the last two plates down on their table.

"Hi Jack! It's nice to see you again! I forgot you worked here!"

Did she only talk in exclamation points?

"Hi Tiana. I forgot you were staying here." A frown flitted across his face. "How long are you planning on staying in Burgess, anyways?"

She laughed, her eyes glittering with a secret he didn't know. "Oh, a week at least. Maybe even longer!"

Jack tried not to groan out loud.

"Oh!" she said suddenly. "These are my friends! This is Aster," Tiana gestured to the tall grumpy man with graying hair. "This is Nick," she pointed to the large man with the long white beard, who waved enthusiastically. "And this is Sandy!" The short blond man waved sleepily.

"Is pleasure to meet you!" Nick said loudly, leaning forwards to shake Jack's hand. "Have heard-"

Jack quickly glanced back at the counter, where someone was waiting.

"Sorry to run," _not really._ "But I've got to get back to my post. Nice seeing you again Tiana!"

Jack dashed over to the counter. "Sorry about the wait." He smiled at the woman as he took her order.

 _At least a week_ , Jack thought. He took a sip from his flask. _This will be an important topic to discuss when I get home…_

* * *

 **A/N: It's me again! Last time I added a chapter, I realized I hadn't responded to reviews, so I put all of them here.**

 ** _HikariCruz_ : Thank you so much!**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Nice to see you again, and thanks!**

 ** _Guest_ : You're absolutely right, they don't give us much of her in the movie. I adore moments of Jack and his sister, so prepare to see her again!**

 ** _FlyingFree_ : Well, here's another update!**

 ** _HikariCruz_ : Yeah, I seem to go from very little speaking to lots and lots. There is no in-between.**

 **Thanks for the reviews, and feel free to let me know of any mistakes. Or just leave a reveiw for encouragement. Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: Winter Reflects

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

He mentioned it casually, over a small dinner of bread and baked potatoes. Jack knew Mrs. Overland was less likely to panic if Emma was in attendance.

"So," he said with feigned nonchalance. "There's a new group of travelers at the Inn. They're a bit odd, and I heard they're gonna be here for about a week, maybe more."

Jack saw his own internal horror on Mrs. Overland's face. Emma, however, was pleased by this.

"Ooooooh, Jack, what are they like? You said they were odd? How odd? How old are they? Do you think they-?"

"Slow down, Em!" Jack tried to laugh away his unease. "They're just some people staying at the Inn, I really don't know much about them," _and I don't really want_ to "but, as a matter of fact, I ran into one of that group at the market."

Mrs. Overland's eyes widened and he could see the silent question in them. _Do you think…?_

"There are four of the people in the group, three men and a girl. I ran into the girl." He laughed. "Well, she ran into me."

Emma was grinning. "A _girl_ , huh Jack?"

He looked at her seriously. "Yes a _girl_. I have met some before, but I'm not so sure about you!"

She took the bait. "Jack! I _am_ a girl!"

"Jack knows that perfectly well," Mrs. Overland intervened. "He's just teasing." She turned to Jack. "So, a girl bumped into you, did… anything happen?"

"Yeah Jack, did anything happen?" Emma was grinning, and Jack knew for a fact she picked up that particular grin from him. Emma was not supposed to look that mischievous.

"She knocked me over and offered to pay for the apples I was buying." He gave Emma a hard stare. "She introduced me to her companions when I served them at dinner, and that's when I found out they were sticking around for a while."

Mrs. Overland looked thoughtful. Emma, not so much.

"This is great!" She said, beaming. "Do you think I'll get to see them? Nothing ever happens in this town, nobody ever stays." Emma huffed in frustration, her face scrunching up. "If I don't see them by the end of tomorrow I'm going to find them myself!" she took a bite of bread, face set, as though that sealed it.

"Emma, that might be an invasion of…"

As Mrs. Overland tried to convince Emma that just marching up to strangers wasn't the smartest idea, Jack pondered the possible reasons that Tiana's group could be staying. There was a chance that it was no big deal, just a stop in a quaint little town. It was far too likely, however, the reason would threaten him. _Or Emma._

"Jack?"

He looked up at Mrs. Overland, who had interrupted his musings. He noticed Emma was gone, and so were the bread and butter.

"Could you help clear the table?"

Jack smiled at Mrs. Overland. "No problem." He stood up and collected the plates, then carried them into the kitchen for washing. He started scrubbing the plates back into cleanliness. Emma exited the room, and came back with the glasses they had used. As the two did the dishes, Emma broke the silence.

"Jack?"

"Hmmm?"

"Just because there's interesting strangers at work, you'll still come home and play hopscotch, right?"

Jack barely managed to keep from busting out laughing, but a few snickers escaped.

"Jack! It's not funny!" Emma had paused in scrubbing the bread plate to glare at him.

"Sorry," he gasped out. "It's just funny you would even think I would abandon you for some 'interesting strangers'." He made air quotes dramatically, and Emma giggled too. "You're way more fun. Promise." He tweaked her nose.

"Jaaaaack!"

* * *

The middle of the night was dark, and the snow was cold on the ground, but Jack hadn't bothered to wear shoes. He would be scared walking out like this, but the lake was protected from prying eyes by trees. He nimbly climbed the small rock cliffs overlooking the lake, and sat on the highest one. He looked skywards.

The waxing moon sat up in the sky, and Jack was certain it saw him as much as he saw the moon. This clearing was safe, trees that protected people from seeing him out, but didn't block out the light of the moon, which banished the darkness.

Jack considered the moon, the way its light reflected off the frozen lake and the snow on the rocks and trees. The clearing wouldn't be as luminescent if it wasn't winter.

Jack absentmindedly scooped up some snow, rolling into a ball and tossing it up into the air. He exhaled, his breath fogging in the cold air. Even his breath captured the moonlight. Jack stood, hopping off the rocks and onto the lake, landing lightly.

Giving another glance at the lake, Jack made his way back to the house, his bare feet leaving no imprints in the snow. Definitely not dark at all.

His nightmares were wrong.

* * *

"The moon is bright tonight."

Aster glanced at North, who was at the window. He was right, the moonlight was pouring into the room they were currently sharing. Aster joined him at the window.

"This would be bright for a full moon, mate. This moon is only a gibbous."

The two stood in silence for a minute. Aster sighed.

"North, why're we doin' this? There's probably plenty o' people named Jack, and the one Tooth found is just a kid."

North turned to look at Aster, surprised. "Just a kid? Bunny, you forget. Children are having as much power as anyone else. Sometimes they understand more than adults. I'm certain you remember the girl who once figured things out first." With that bit of wisdom imparted to his companion, North got into bed, his snores filling the room not long after.

Aster stayed at the window for a bit, unknowingly considering the moon the same way someone else was at a certain lake.

"I hope you know what you're doing…" he muttered, before he, too, turned in for the night.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I'm heading into exams, and most likely won't update for another two weeks, at least. That said, there's some food for thought in this chapter. One thing that bothered me in the movie was how reflective winter is. There is honestly a better chance of getting sunburned during the winter than people might think, the clouds, snow, and ice are all very reflective. Anyways, reviews!**

 ** _Guest:_ Yeah, this Jack likes to think he's doing a good job hiding, but he's just being really suspicious. I always thought the guardians would be pretty nosy if it were to achieve a mission. Are the others hiding? Maybe... Don't be giving my secrets away!**

 ** _HikariCruz_ : You're right! We're getting sort of close to an issue...**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Oh, I have a few things planned for Jack (which he probably wouldn't like).**

 **So, how was this chapter? Giving a good critique is always helpful to me, feel free to leave one! Also, did anyone notice the reference to the beginning of the movie?**

 **Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5: To Lunch!

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

"One, two, three, hop! Five…"

"Jack?" Mrs. Overland stood in the doorway of the house, watching Emma and Jack play hopscotch.

Jack turned his attention away from Emma, who always felt the need to narrate what she was doing, to Mrs. Overland. "Yeah?"

She gestured in the direction of town. "It's time for your shift."

"Oh." Jack started making his way down the path that had snow cleared away. He would have to clear it off again; it was snowing. "Bye Emma!" he called over his shoulder. Abruptly he felt something, or rather some _one_ , run into him from behind.

"Bye Jack!" said the giggling girl attached rather firmly around his waist. Jack gently pried Emma off him, before ruffling her hair and heading into town.

Jack didn't bother to pass through the market today, heading straight for the Inn. Just before entering, he took off his cloak and shook the snow off it, and knocked his shoes against the side of the building to get rid of excess snow.

Mr. Herke found him as he was hanging his cloak up. "Can you take the front again, Jack?"

Jack smiled and nodded, despite wanting to say no. Mr. Herke was his boss and Jack had to do as was told, regardless of his personal qualms of meeting Tiana and her group again.

For the next hour, Jack took food orders to the cook on duty (despite being an Inn, many people who lived in Burgess ate there regularly), checked two people into a room, and saw no sign of the odd group.

 _Maybe they decided to leave town early_ , he thought hopefully. Not likely, he knew, but he could dream.

An hour and a half after he'd started his shift, with his lunch break coming up, Emma burst into the Inn, looking for all the world as though she had found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She marched right up to him, and opened her mouth to speak, before Jack placed a finger on her lips, effectively shushing her.

"I'm almost on break," he told her when she looked insulted. "Wait until then."

Appeased, Emma nodded and left the Inn, presumably to wait outside.

When he joined her, she still looked ridiculously pleased.

"Alright," Jack said, as they walked to the market. "Spill."

"Jack! I think I met one of those odd people staying at the Inn! He was really nice, and we had a conversation! Well, not really, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Jack laughed, concealing his nervousness at the thought of one of _them_ being close to Emma. "Describe him to me; you don't know what they look like."

Emma paused and look at the sky, remembering. "Well, he was really-" she cut herself off, and pointed nearby. "He's right there!" She took off without any warning, ducking through the crowd of people.

"Emma!" he hollered, running after her. "Sorry, excuse me, I have to- oh! Sorry!"

"Hey!" he scolded when he finally caught up to her, a bit out of breath. "Don't run off like that! Just because you're allowed to be on your own now doesn't mean- oh." Jack blinked at the small man in besides Emma. "Hi, um, Sandy, right?"

The man– Sandy -nodded, smiling at Jack before turning his attention to Emma.

"Jack, this is the person I met! He doesn't actually talk, but he writes and I know how to read and he-"

"We've met." Jack reminded her, trying not to let his concern show on his face. He'd known Emma wanted to meet the travelers, but he had thought Mrs. Overland had managed to talk her out of looking for one of them.

"Jack?"

He started, pulled out of his thoughts by Emma's voice. He glanced at her.

"You didn't let me do a proper introduction!" She scolded him. He felt a smile tugging at his lips despite himself.

"Jack, this is Sandy, and I met him by the market." Emma said, trying to be proper but mostly just looking ridiculous. "Sandy, this is my big brother, Jack!"

Sandy beamed at Emma, scribbling something on a pad of paper and handing it to her. While she read, the man's golden-brown eyes drifted over to Jack's, his expression now serene. Jack suppressed a shiver, that gaze was a little _too_ knowing.

"Yeah!" Emma exclaimed abruptly. "That's a good idea! I think that they would like that!"

"Emma, what exactly are you talking about?" Emma had not noticed Jack's obvious confusion. _Who_ would like _what_?

"Oh. Well, Sandy says, actually, here." She shoved the paper Sandy had given her to him.

 _Do you think that I might be able to bring you and your family a dish for your meal tonight? One of my companions knows a very fine recipe._

"Ummm…" What happened? Did this small, sleepy man and Emma have such a good conversation that this sort of thing was okay? Was this custom from where he was from? Or was there a different purpose?

The amount of thoughts in Jack's head right now was overwhelming. He hadn't exactly anticipated running into one of _them_ again. Mrs. Overland. Yes. Tell Emma to ask Mrs. Overland.

"You have to ask-"

"I know!" Emma said, smiling as though there were no problems whatsoever. "I'll ask mom, don't worry! Come on, Sandy. I bet Rebecca and Jane will want to hear that story about the pirate ship! They're my friends, you see…"

Jack could only stare, dumb-founded, as Emma tugged Sandy away. So much for keeping the odd group away from his family. He rubbed a hand over his face. It was almost like they were seeking him out.

"Hello, Jack, is it?"

Jack flinched, and whirled around, coming face-to-face with the large man. His surprise must have shown on his face (but hopefully not the quick flash of fear), for the man laughed boisterously.

Jack put on a smile. The more he acted the same around these people as he did other travelers the more likely they were to leave him alone. "Yes, Nick, is it?" he imitated the man's thick accent.

"Yes! Good memory, very good…" Nick trailed off, appraising him for a moment. Like Sandy's, and like Tiana's, now that Jack thought of it, Nick's eyes held secrets. Secrets, Jack was sure, that would be consequential to him.

"Did I see Sandy over here?" Nick had stopped studying him, and was now looking in the direction Emma had pulled the little man.

"Yeah." Jack nodded, sensing an escape from the exuberant man. "They went that way."

"They?"

Darn it.

"Emma, my sister, decided to drag him off." He shrugged, and took a quick drink from his flask. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to grab a bite to eat before my break is over…"

Jack turned, starting to walk away, when Nick grabbed his shoulder, pulling him closer again. "No need! You eat with us!"

So close.

* * *

 **A/N: So, exams are done! Hopefully I will have more time to write now, but no guarantees. Right, reviews!**

 ** _bluefrosty27_ : In my head, Jack is usually 15 or 16, because the two most common ages for him are 14 and 17, so I just go in-between. No spoilers! I'm glad you like Emma, I adore her. Honestly the Guardians don't really know who they're looking for.**

 ** _HikariCruz_ : Well, I'm not going to give the answers away just yet.**

 ** _The purple hippocampus:_ Thank you for pointing that out, I try not to write repetitively.**

 **Also, Canadian friends, hope you have a lovely (almost) 150 Canada Day, and happy (nearly) Independence Day to Americans! Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6: Secrets are Kept

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

Jack didn't really know how he got there. He had been invited to eat with Nick and the rest of his strange group, that much he knew. What he didn't know was how he hadn't managed to come up with a quick lie that would have fooled the man.

Nick had brushed off the fact that Jack's lunch would be over soon, saying "Bah! You still have half hour!" How he knew this, Jack wasn't sure, and he decided it was best not to know.

Jack tried to tell him that he had plans to eat with his sister. Nick just grinned. "Sister has run off with Sandy! Will see her soon anyway."

Dang, this guy was good. Almost like he had a lot of practice telling lies apart from truth. Or Jack was being dumb in his haste to decline the offer, which was likely.

That was how Jack found himself sitting inside Burgess's eatery, one of three places to buy a full meal, including the Inn. He was surrounded by Nick, Sandy, Tiana, and the still-grumpy Aster. Emma had also gotten roped into eating with them, though she didn't seem upset. On the contrary, she seemed rather pleased with the turn of events.

It was Emma who said something first. "So, I met Sandy this morning, but I don't actually know the rest of you." She put a spoonful of soup in her mouth, gazing in obvious wonder at travelers around her.

Sandy scribbled something on a piece of paper, and handed it to her.

She read it over, then studied the other members of the group. She pointed her spoon at Tiana. "You're Tiana then." She consulted the paper again. "No offense, Sandy, but these descriptions are terrible." She looked between Nick and Aster. "Which of you is Aster?"

The grouchy man just waved, apparently not willing to partake in conversation.

Emma beamed at the larger man. "So you must be Nick! It's nice to meet you, mom said not to pester you, but I ran into Sandy and he asked me to talk, so it doesn't count! Sandy said you guys have been everywhere, but where are you from?"

Jack leaned forward, interested in this. It was obvious how diverse the group was, the differing cultures showing in the heavy coat Nick wore, the flowing style of clothing that Sandy was prone to wearing, the bangles that adorned Tiana's arms, and the tattoo visible on Aster's forehead. Jack hadn't been outside of Burgess in a very long time, and Emma never had left, so there was no way either of them could know where they hailed from.

"Ah, good question! But all of us are from very far, few cartographers would have brought maps of our lands to yours, you would not know. For now, just say that I am from north of here."

"I'm from, well, it's sort of south-east of here." Tiana added her statement to Nick's.

"Sandy's from west, and I'm from down south too." The only other time Jack had heard Aster say something was when he had ordered breakfast the first morning. He now remembered how laughable the man's accent was. He stifled a snicker.

He must have failed to properly conceal his amusement, though, because the gray-haired man glared at him. "Alright mate, what's so funny?"

Jack struggled between trying to remain inconspicuous in the eyes of these people he didn't trust, or teasing the man. In the end, teasing won. "Oh, nothing." He smothered another laugh. " _Mate_."

Aster looked furious, and might even have started a fight, but Sandy intervened. He waved his arms around, and when he was sure he had Aster's attention, he made signs with his hands.

"What's that?" Emma asked curiously, leaning forwards to peer at Sandy's hands. "Does that mean something?"

Sandy paused in moving his hands and nodded at her. Tiana cleared her throat and explained, "Often it's much easier for him to sign," she gestured to Sandy's hands. "than to write everything down."

Emma seemed satisfied with that answer, but Jack still had a question. "What was he saying to Aster?" He tried to keep the suspicion out of his tone.

Too busy scooping more soup into her mouth, Emma didn't notice the way all four of their faces froze for a second. But the moment was there and gone so quick Jack wondered if he had imagined it. His paranoia was probably just getting to him.

"Was just telling Bunny here not to fight. Would not want to make a scene, no?" Nick answered, glancing at Sandy.

"Who's Bunny?" Emma giggled.

"He means Aster. Bunny is just a nickname." Tiana smiled gently at Emma, but Jack could have sworn a flash of panic crossed her face.

Jack filed that away, but focused on something he deemed more pressing at the moment. He smirked. "Your nickname is Bunny? How did that happen?" He did his best to look innocent under the glare of the grumpy man.

"None o' your business." Aster grumbled.

"What he means is, it's a long story." Nick looked curiously at Jack. "What about you, have you two lived here long?"

Emma waved her spoon in the air. "We were both born here! Mom does a lot of sewing and Jack works at the Inn and sometimes watches sheep for Mr. Williams, which is how we got some extra wool and now we have extra blankets Mom sometimes sells! And I get lessons with-"

"Emma." Jack said, exasperation in his voice. When he was certain she wasn't going to say much else (which meant no personal details spilled to these people) for now, he took a swig from his flask and turned to Tiana. "You guys seem like you've been all over, surely you have some interesting stories?"

The four companions exchanged glances at the not-so-subtle change of topic. "Well," Tiana said. "We've been to-"

"Jack!" Nick said, louder than necessary. "Your lunch break is coming to end, no? Must be getting back to Inn, I am sure. And friends!" the large man turned to the others, not including Emma. "We wanted to look around town more today, we must be going."

The whole group left before Jack had a chance to collect his things. Jack noticed a small bag, probably with money in it on top of the bill that had been left on the table.

"Well Em," Jack glanced at Emma, who had finally finished her soup. "I have enough time to take you as far as the market place. You can meet up with your friends after, how's that sound?"

"Only if you give me a piggyback." She gave him a pleading look, and he relented. He bent down, allowing her to hop on his back over his cloak. She giggled from her new vantage point. "Go Jack!"

He laughed, pushing the group's quick exit out of his mind.

For now.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, got back from a trip to the States, and if I hadn't left I would have had time to work on the story and would have updated sooner. Anyways, I'm a little unsure about this chapter, so constructive criticism to help catch mistakes would be wonderful! So, reviews!**

 ** _Brenne_ : Well, small town is small and foreigners are interesting. That said, I think she, like Jack, is rather sociable and likes to talk to all sorts or people.**

 ** _The_ _purple_ _hippocampus_ : Well, I sort of need to work on a smoother ending that doesn't jerk the reader into an uneasy, cliff-hanger sort of feeling. I'll sort myself out and manage to not end on a cliff-hanger someday. **

**Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7: A Chilling Nightmare

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

Later that night, after Emma had been put to bed, Jack tried to organize what he knew about the strange people, and what it could mean.

All four of them were exotic, from far-away places. They must be very close to leave their homelands and come somewhere as mundane as Burgess. That, or they had some incredibly important mission they were all committed to, something they believed in very strongly.

They all _knew_ something. Even Aster had had the look in his eyes, a deep knowledge, a wonderful secret. Whatever the secret was, it was important. Jack had seen the group slip-up a few times. Whatever it was that Sandy had 'said', and Aster's nickname had been accidents, something Jack wasn't supposed to see or hear.

The dish Sandy had offered. What was the point? Had it been an excuse to talk? Was he trying to endear his group to Jack? Was he planning to put something in the food? The offer had bothered Jack, more than he hoped he had let show.

Tiana's violet eyes. They were unnatural, and Jack wondered if anyone else had noticed. Out of all the things Jack wondered about, this was the least alarming thing about the four of them. The color of her eyes, which Jack had never seen on a human being, gave him hope. The group might not be bad, if they all tolerated her, assuming she was... different, and assuming they all knew.

Jack shook his head, too many guesses, not as much to work with as he would've liked. Jack stood up from his place in one of the kitchen chairs and stretched. Mrs. Overland might have more ideas, but he didn't want to worry her more than she already was with the simple presence of the group.

Beginning to pace, he wondered if inviting them all over was a crazy idea. It probably was, but then Mrs. Overland would be able to make her own assessment of the group. Besides, Emma might ask them all over anyways, if Jack got to it first it would reduce suspicion, even better if the two of them asked together... maybe. Which would be the least suspicious, a girl who obviously adored and was fascinated by the four travellers asking them over, the older boy who was distant, or the two of them together? Probably Emma alone, Jack conceded with defeat, but she might have to be regulated. She had a tendency to talk a lot.

Jack decided to ask at breakfast tomorrow, and headed for the room he and Emma shared, walking quietly so as not to wake her when he entered.

* * *

 _There was nothing to be seen. Everything was blank. At first, it had seemed like snow, the blankness of a canvas, ready to be used. But the longer he was there, the less that seemed so._

 _The white had faded to a gray, and what could be done in the dull grayness that was everywhere? Nothing, no one to talk to, or even a mouth to talk with, or- hang on, not even a body to move around in this fading place._

 _Fading?_

 _The gray all around was darkening, becoming more of a black. And suddenly, it_ was _black, and the emptiness was worse than before. Pressing in, oppressive, and the temperature was dropping. It was cold, very cold, freezing, and if there had been a body in the vast, dark expanse, its breath would surely have been visible, if one could see, that is._

 _It was empty, and lonely, and dark, and the darkness was bearing down on him (Who? There was nobody there), and there were all manner of creatures lurking about, and an indescribable panic filling his insides (But there were no people and no creatures. What was there to be afraid of?)._

 _The cold seemed as entrapping as the darkness, and they fit together so well, why wasn't he helping?_

 _Helping? Why would he help? He didn't like this, this strange void filled with nothingness and fear and pain, the chill tugging at him, and maybe he did have a body after all, and the shadows were coming to get him, he had to move, they were engulfing him and the hurt was_ inside _him, helphelphelp-_

 _A light._

 _A figure, emitting the light, of a thin boy. A second, of a young girl. A third, a small floating figure. A fourth, a fifth, a strange bunny, a large man. A sixth, a seventh, an eighth, and old man, a bird-woman, a girl clutching a book. Faster, faster. More figures, too many, with smiles, and it wasn't that dark anymore, each person emitting something that wasn't quite light, but more a_ feeling _of light._

 _For a brief second, he was at the lake, with the snow reflecting the moonlight, a clear picture of the moon in the frozen lake, but the moon was full, and that wasn't right, was it?_

 _But the lake exploded, the water grabbing him and becoming the darkness, which tugged him under, back to the oppressive emptiness._

 _And the people had turned away, angry and hateful, and there would be no help this time._

* * *

Jack rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and glanced over at Emma. She was still asleep, which made sense, considering the sun wasn't quite up yet. Jack slid quietly out of bed, and got dressed for the day, straying away from the shadows and trying to stay near the moonlight streaming through the window, which was thankfully close to his side of the room, had been near his face when he woke up (And why was that? Sunlight that came through the window always hit Emma's side, and usually moonlight too. Why was it being different tonight?).

Jack tip-toed towards the kitchen, stumbling a little, and filled his flask. A quick walk would be in order before breakfast, Jack decided. Clear the nightmare (And that's all it was, not even close to reality) from his head.

Tying his cloak on and slipping shoes on his feet, Jack exited the house. He hesitated when he reached the fork in the path, though. Head for the town, or for the lake?

 _Dark water, filling him with loneliness and fear and-_

Jack let his feet carry him towards the town.

As he approached, the first rays of sun were touching the rooftops, and there were early-birds setting up market stalls in the best spots. Jack inhaled, letting the crisp winter air fill his chest as he watched the people set up. The chill reminded him of his nightmare. He exhaled quickly.

Not paying attention to his surroundings, Jack nearly bumped into a tall figure.

"Whoops." he muttered, and moved, meaning to go around the figure to see if Mrs. Bennett had set up her stall yet. It would be nice to see a friendly face.

He felt a hand catch him by his cloak. "Hold up there, mate."

Jack froze, then turned around slowly. _Please don't be_ -

Aster glared at him, arms crossed over his odd jacket. "What're you doin' up so early, huh?" He squinted at Jack suspiciously.

Jack frowned. "Just out for a walk, clear my head before the day." He tried for an innocent grin. "What about you? I got the impression you liked to sleep in."

Aster snorted. "Nah, I like to get up and see the life in the morning, before people disturb all the critters too much." He grumbled, shuffling his feet. "Or I would, if not for this moon forsaken cold."

 _Moon forsaken?_

Jack frowned on the inside at the jab directed towards the temperature, but kept the grin on his face. If the Overland's did invite the foreigners over, being friendly now would make the offer more genuine.

Aster grunted, and pulled his jacket closer to himself, trying to trap body heat inside, probably. "At least the sun looks nice against the snow," he said, looking skyward. "The one good thing about this season."

"Oh, I'm sure there are lots of good things about winter that you just haven't discovered yet!" Jack said brightly, before smirking at the tanned man. "Like shoving snow down people's backs." He bent down as though to scoop up some snow.

Aster quickly backed up, saying, "Ah, no mate. I have to..." he glanced around, searching for an escape. "Wake the others!" Aster ran off in the direction of the Inn, desperate to get away from the boy.

Jack laughed softly, then, realizing that he should head back if he didn't want to worry Emma and Mrs. Overland, turned and walked back down the path.

* * *

Mrs. Overland had been worried to wake up and find that Jack had been gone. She had started to get breakfast ready, concealing her worry when Emma entered the room. She had been vastly relieved when Jack had walked in, dusting snow off his cloak.

"Sorry," he said casually as he slipped his shoes off. "It looked nice out, so I went for a quick walk."

Mrs. Overland smiled at him. "No worries," she said, though she most definitely had been worried. "You're back now, just in time for breakfast."

The meal of toast was silent, as Emma, who normally did most of the talking, was still half-asleep. Jack tapped his fingers on the table as he ate, trying to figure out the best way to ask if the travellers could visit. Jack himself was still unsure of whether or not to ask, the potentially-dangerous strangers would know where he lived, who was close to him, and what sort of life he lived, just by coming to the house. He chewed his toast slowly; to ask, or not to ask.

Deciding getting Mrs. Overland's opinion on them was the most crucial, he cleared his throat. "I was wondering," he said, gaining the attention of Mrs. Overland and a waking-up Emma, "If we should invite that group that Emma and I had lunch with the other day over."

He looked up, noting the shock, and a hint of fear, on Mrs. Overland's face. "To pay them back for lunch, of course." He added hastily, making eye-contact with her, trying to convey his motive without Emma knowing. _I want your opinion. How bad do you think it could get?_

That jerked Emma into wakefulness. She clapped her hands, squeaking, "That would be fun! I want you to meet them, mom, please?"

Mrs. Overland looked between the two, Emma's pleading face, and Jack's strangely serious one. "Alright." She said out loud, her eyes telling Jack that she hoped he knew what he was doing.

Jack smiled reassuringly, more at ease knowing he wouldn't be so alone with the problem anymore.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I'm trying to make the chapters a little longer (tell me if you prefer them that way), but no promises that it'll be a regular thing.** **So, reviews!**

 ** _Guest_ : Thanks, and here you go!**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Thanks for the reassurance, I hope this is less cliff-hanger-y. Secrets? Oh, I'm just getting warmed up ;) *suspenseful music plays***

 ** _Guest_ : (maybe use a name so you know which reply is for you, though I'm sure you'd know) Yes, well, Out of all of them, Jack and Sandy would be the best at keeping secrets, though Jack's a little too paranoid to try as hard as he should right now, and the others are giving Sandy's secrets away, the dummies.**

 **I'd love to hear what you think, so drop a review and feel free to criticize, it helps me expand my abilities as a writer! (Keep the criticism constructive though, flames are too hot for Jack!)**

 **Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8: Plans set in Motion

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

Bunny scrambled away from the crazy kid who might have dumped snow down his back, running back towards the Inn. He slowed as he approached, opening the door and walking up the stairs that led to his and his companion's joint rooms. He walked in room #15, the one he shared with North, expecting the man to be asleep.

"Bunny! Have been waiting for you to return, things to discuss."

Bunny almost fell over in shock; not only was North awake, but both Sandy and Tooth were in the room as well, the door that connected their room to North and Bunny's open.

Getting over his shock (North was _not_ a morning person, usually), Bunny replied, "Yeah mate, that kid we're keeping an eye on is dangerous!"

Sandy raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced.

"He is!" Bunny insisted. "The bloody larrikin almost stuffed snow down my back!"

Tooth and North looked amused, and Sandy was silently laughing. Bunny just huffed, mumbling something about people not understanding true danger these days.

"Anyway," Tooth said, as Sandy stopped laughing (but not before shooting a teasing look at Bunny), "We think something weird happened last night. I don't know if you noticed while you were patrolling, but the moonlight was a little off this morning."

"Ah," Bunny said, nodding. "Yeah, it seemed sort of directed towards the woods. Might be worth checking out."

"Also," North put in, "We are wanting to give boy dish soon, so picking up extra ingredients at market would be good idea."

Sandy nodded, and he and Tooth went back to their room, all of them ready with a plan to face the day.

* * *

Jack had been tasked with asking the foreigners over for dinner, much to Emma's disappointment (she had wanted to ask them over).

This was a task that would have been easier had Jack been on duty at the counter, and not in the kitchen washing dishes. Someone had rented a room at the Inn earlier that day, and must have hosted a party or something because there was an abundance of plates, glasses, and silverware to scrub clean. The counter had been slow, Mr. Herke had said, so Jack could just help Seth on the dishes. So Jack, alongside Mary (who usually worked as a housekeeper and sometimes helped Molly with the laundry) and Seth (whose actual job was the dishes, so no changes really for him), washed and scrubbed utensils, slowly going through the pile.

It took the three of them nearly half an hour to scrub, rinse and dry all the dishes (goodness, what had those people been doing, to have so many dishes that it took three people experienced in dish washing a half hour to get through them all?), at which point Jack and Mary went back to their respective posts.

Jack returned to the front counter after his lunch break, just in time to see the group of four enter the Inn, Nick and Aster carrying a few bags, while Tiana talked at them and Sandy smiled sleepily. Jack briefly wondered suspiciously what was in those bags, but he shook the thought off.

They had disappeared upstairs before Jack could call out to them, which was probably for the best. Now that Jack knew they were here, he could mentally prepare himself to ask them over, an idea he was still a little (okay, a lot) doubtful of.

Jack took the order of a young couple who had just missed the lunch rush, and almost robotically took their food to their table when it was done. He returned to the counter, and, laughing at something Seth had said, he didn't notice the person right behind him until he turned back around and saw bright violet eyes not even an inch from his face.

 _Holy-!_

"Hi!" Tiana chirped, not moving away from her _very close_ position to his face.

Jack backed up, keeping his brown eyes trained on her, laughter fading.

"Hi?" he said, cautiously.

"Hi!" she repeated, grinning. It was only then that Jack noticed her three companions behind her, Sandy looking serene, Nick smiling exuberantly, and Aster looking at him warily, probably remembering that morning's snow incident.

Jack smirked, remembering the incident himself. "Did you need something?" he asked; they were surely up at the counter for a reason.

Sandy shook his head, as Tiana said, "No, actually, we just wanted to say hi!"

"Oh…kay." Jack said. He had only talked to each of them, what, twice? And they were just randomly saying hi? He shook his head, reminding himself that this was good; he needed to talk to them anyway. "Well, hi, I guess." He heard Aster snort, but didn't glance at him. "So, my family was kind of wondering if you wanted to join us for dinner, my sister has been going on about you four, and," he hesitated a moment, "M-mom would like to meet you."

Jack had kept his eyes on Sandy the whole time, as he was probably the least threatening out of the four, and he was already nodding, grinning and giving two thumbs-up.

"Is great idea, would like to meet your mother!" North exclaimed, smiling widely. "In fact, we can bring a dish, in thanks!"

Jack's eyes widened with alarm. "You really don't have to," he said hastily. "We're sort of thanking you by inviting you, since you took Emma and I out yesterday. There's no need to bring anything."

"It really ain't any trouble mate. North likes to cook anyways." Jack found the fact that Aster was smiling- _smiling!_ –to be the most dubious part of this offer.

With no real, or at least polite way to refuse, Jack relented. "Well… alright, if you really want to." He resolved to just not eat any of whatever they would bring. Just in case they did something to it.

"Well, we'll see you then!" Tiana beamed. "What time do we need to come, and now that I think of it, where are we even going?"

An idea hit Jack, and he made a conscious effort to smile normally, and not give a sly smirk. "Don't worry," he said, hoping his tone wasn't betraying what he was planning. "I'll come get you. Room 14 and 15, right?"

Sandy nodded, eyes practically glowing with secrets and a touch of mischief, herding the others back upstairs. Jack knew that look; it was one he tried to conceal when he bothered to look in the mirror. It was a look that spelled trouble.

* * *

"Hurry North, it's almost five o'clock, that's dinnertime, right?"

"Yeah mate, we want this to be done in time."

"Am almost finished! Just hush and let me make food!"

Sandy was the only calm one in Room 15 as North was finishing up the food they planned to bring to dinner. He was just wrapping the plate up when there was a knock on the door. Sandy opened it to reveal Jack, with a strange grin on his face.

"Are you guys ready?" he asked, scanning the room. There were two beds, neither of which was made, a few backpacks on the table between the beds, and various objects scattered about the room. There was also a small gas stove in the corner of the room, for guests who liked to make their own food. It had clearly been used, as evidenced by the plate Nick was holding and the bag of partially used ingredients beside it. _So that's what was in the bags._

Sandy, still at the door, nodded cheerfully.

Jack beamed, praying he didn't look as devious as he felt. He had often been told that his plans to trick people showed on his face, and he was working on remedying that. Pranks weren't nearly as good if the other person expected it.

"Come on!" he said, waving the out the door and down the stairs. "Emma wanted to come get you, but, um, mom wanted her to stay back and help set up." He explained.

"Very nice of sister, yes?" Nick asked, as he and the rest of his group followed Jack to the edge of the woods.

"Hold up mate, why're we goin' into the woods?" Aster asked, alarmed.

Jack paused and turned, bemused. "Because we live in the woods?" Grinning at Aster's face, Jack led them through the woods, turning in odd places and ducking under tree branches, taking care to let a few of them hit the irritable man. Jack had purposefully taken a different way to get to his house, hoping the strangers wouldn't notice the path and would assume that the Overland's lived out of the way. If things went according to plan, the group wouldn't remember the way to Jack's house. Of course, they could ask someone how to get there, but Jack had his fingers crossed that they wouldn't do that.

Besides, even if the plan failed, he was still hitting Aster's face with branches.

They finally arrived at the back of the Overland house, Emma skipping rope outside. As soon as she caught sight of them she came running over, beaming.

"You're finally here!" She practically screamed at them, latching onto Sandy immediately.

Sandy silently laughed and allowed himself to be pulled to the house, Tiana following. Jack could still hear Emma talking excitedly even as the door was shutting. He turned to tell the others to come in but stopped short at Aster's glare.

"There wasn't a better way to get here?" Aster seethed. "Maybe one that, I dunno mate, had _less branches_?"

Rather than respond, Jack grinned cheekily, the feeling of mischief successfully pulled off filling him. He darted inside the house, letting Nick go in front of him but allowing the door to shut right behind Aster, so it hit him. His smile widened, hearing Nick's laughter at his friend's 'misfortune'.

Jack pointed Nick in the direction of the kitchen to set down his suspicious plate, before walking into the living room. They had all ('all' being Jack and Mrs. Overland) helped pull the heavy oak table into the living room so that there was enough room for extra chairs to be placed around it. This was the usual arrangement when extra people joined them for a meal, though it was usually the Bennett family.

While Jack had gone to pick up the group, Emma and Mrs. Overland had been setting the table and cooking food. Mrs. Overland had pulled a rarely-used lace tablecloth of a dull off-white color out of a cabinet, and draped it over the round table. The Overland's used the same wooden utensils for all occasions, so those were set up, albeit more neatly than they usually were.

Emma, Sandy, Tiana, and Aster were already seated, Emma sitting in between Sandy and Tiana, with Aster beside Sandy. Jack grinned and took a seat next to Tiana, across from Aster, who looked like he was ready to strangle Jack.

Nick came out of the kitchen, and the look on his face told Jack that Mrs. Overland had shooed him out of the kitchen, something she was prone to doing. He sat next to Jack, who noticed with alarm that meant the three Overlands would be separated from each other.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Overland running back and forth from the kitchen to the table, carrying dishes and setting them down. At last she brought out a pitcher of water and sat down.

She smiled, and only Jack noticed how nervous she was. "Hello everyone, I've heard quite a bit about you," She glanced at the two brown-haired children, "I'm Abigail Overland, and I'd like to thank you for taking my children out for lunch yesterday. So let us say a prayer, and then we may get acquainted with one another and eat."

Her words were met with polite clapping and a nod of a head from the potentially dangerous group, a cheer from Emma, and a small, glowing smile from Jack.

The Overland's bowed their heads, the foreigners hastily copying them, and Mrs. Overland uttered a small prayer. Jack and Emma almost soundlessly murmured some words, and they kept their heads bowed for a moment. Nick, Sandy, Aster, and Tiana exchanged glances across the table. Nick shrugged and muttered something too, in his native tongue. Aster and (obviously) Sandy stayed silent, but Tiana added a few words to… whatever this was.

Raising her head, Mrs. Overland smiled at their confused expressions. "We've eaten with people from out of town before," she explained, "and we discovered the hard way that it's best to let everyone pray on their own quietly, if they wish to do so." She glanced at Jack, who looked sheepish.

Nick smiled brightly. "I am sensing there is story there, no?"

Mrs. Overland gave a small smile. "One to be shared at another time." She said, much to Jack's relief. "For now, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Ah! Is very good idea. I am Nick, that is Tiana, that is Sandy, and that is Aster, who is very irritated with your Jack!" Nick responded enthusiastically as Mrs. Overland uncovered the various dishes on the table.

Nick proudly took the cloth off the plate that he had brought, revealing what looked like rolls.

"What are those?" Emma asked curiously.

"Is traditional recipe, from where I am from! Called pirozhki, there is cabbage and egg and some special spices rolled up inside bread." Nick exaggerated a wink, making Emma laugh.

Each person filled their plates with what they thought they would like. Aside from Jack, the only person who didn't take any pirozhki was Mrs. Overland, who was clearly (at least, it was clear to Jack) also mistrustful of the food, and what could have been done to it.

There was little conversation in the beginning, as everyone was too busy chewing food, but as the eating slowed down, there was more time for people to speak.

Jack heard Aster having a conversation with Nick about… well, he wasn't exactly sure, but it sounded like an argument between chocolate and peppermint. Sandy seemed to be telling a story of some sort, with Tiana translating his hand signs and Emma interjecting every now and then.

"So," Aster broke off his argument with Nick (Jack decided Nick had probably won, he look very superior indeed), and turned to Mrs. Overland. "Emma said you sew?"

To Jack, it seemed like Aster had gotten fed up with his argument with Nick and had been grasping at straws for a conversation that wasn't with Jack or Nick. However, he could tell Aster was actually paying attention as Mrs. Overland outlined what she did to help bring income to support her family. Nick had somehow inserted himself into the conversation, saying (rather smugly) that sewing was a better form of art than painting. For whatever reason, that set Aster off again, and nearly everyone had gotten pulled into the argument. Including Jack.

"Painting is the most acknowledged form of art!" Aster said furiously. "Painting and drawing are the first things that come to mind when most people think of art!"

Jack had no idea why this was such a personal topic for the tall man, but he couldn't resist poking fun at him. "Sewing is more practical, and there are many amazing tapestries and blankets."

"Ha! Jack is on my side!" Nick crowed, apparently glad that the brown-haired teen had 'joined him'. What he had joined him in, Jack wasn't entirely sure.

"But," Tiana interjected, "Blankets and tapestries can be worn over time, eventually falling apart."

"What do you have to say about that, Nick?" Aster said triumphantly.

Nick opened his mouth, but Jack beat him to it. "Paintings can fade too, _Bunny_!" he sneered, smirking at the look of shock on the tanned man's face.

Sandy waved his arms signing frantically, but the only ones who noticed him were Emma and Mrs. Overland, who didn't understand the signs. Jack might have noticed, but he was occupied with smirking at Aster, who was fuming. Nick was laughing boisterously, and Tiana looked as though she had only just realized what sort of argument she had joined.

"Let's agree that both are considered art, and leave it at that." Mrs. Overland finally intervened.

Shooting one last teasing grin in Aster's direction (and pretending to ignore but secretly delighting in the irritated grumble he got in return), Jack leaned back in his chair. It was mostly silent at the table, until Sandy signed something and Nick responded.

"Jack, why have you not tried and pirozhki yet?"

Jack winced, and glanced at a frowning Mrs. Overland. It was clear from her face she didn't know what to do, so he just shrugged and tried to smile.

"You should try some!" Nick said, but it sounded like an order, an impression that was reinforced when one of the little rolls was placed on his plate.

Tiana started up a conversation about… teeth? with Emma that seemed suspiciously timed to Jack, who was aware of at least two pairs of eyes on him, one of which was Mrs. Overland's.

Jack considered the little roll, before picking it up and taking a bite. Almost immediately, he could tell that the only person not watching him was Emma, though he could hear her carrying on her conversation with Tiana.

The roll was somehow still warm, and Jack could taste a multitude of spices when he hit the center, exploding in his mouth. It was…

"It's good." Jack said when he finished chewing, and hastily finished the roll.

"You sound surprised." Nick mused. "Why is that?"

 _I expected you to try and poison me or something_ , Jack thought. Instead, he simply said, "I'm not usually a fan of cabbage."

"Ah." Nick nodded, and Jack could see the other three exchanging glances out of the corner of his eyes.

They _had_ done something to it, he realized. They must have, to be so concerned with his reaction. Either Jack had passed a test of some sort, or the worst was yet to come. Jack would have to be on guard for the next few days, even more so. Just in case whatever they had done had yet to kick in.

"Well," Tiana said, standing up. "It was so lovely to meet you, Ms. Abigail! Is it alright if I call you that, or do you prefer something else? Oh dear, I should have asked!"

Sandy stopped Tiana's worrying by placing a hand on her arm. The rest of the group stood up, Nick reaching for some of the plates.

"Abigail is fine." Mrs. Overland smiled warmly at Tiana, then turned to Nick. "You don't have to do that, just take your own plate. My lazy children are perfectly capable of clearing the table and doing the dishes." She looked pointedly at Jack and Emma, who had let out sounds of protests at being called 'lazy'. Both rose from the table and obediently started clearing the table off, taking dishes into the kitchen. "It was a pleasure to meet the people of my daughter's latest fascination. How much longer will you be in town?"

"We aren't really sure yet." said Aster, his eyes flickering towards the kitchen.

Nodding, Mrs. Overland called for Jack to take their guests back to the Inn. When Emma protested (" _I_ wanna take them back! Jack brought them here!"), Mrs. Overland told her that it was dark, and wasn't she supposed to get ready for bed?

Jack grabbed a lantern, quickly lighting it on the way out. Snow crunched underfoot as he led them back through the trees, a slightly different way than they had come. The shadows danced portentously around the light, and the way back to the Inn involved considerably less branches in the face for Aster.

When they arrived, Jack bid them goodnight, disappearing into the trees, the light glittering between branches until it was out of sight.

"What did you think?" Tooth asked quietly.

"I think," Bunny said, voice equally soft as they trooped upstairs, "That that house was where the moonlight was directed last night."

"So, we are sure to be getting results?" North often seemed to not know the definition of 'quiet', but he was making a good effort now. As they entered room 15, Sandy nodded. Just before he and Tooth vanished into their room, there was a soft golden light coming from a floating picture of a cracked flask over his head. Giving one last smile, the door to room 14 shut.

* * *

 **A/N: *casually raises rating in preparation of next chapter* Mostly because I'm paranoid (how much violence/gore/whatever is enough to qualify?), but better safe than sorry! All you need to know is that it gets _real_ next chapter ;). Also, pirozhki is a dish I found on the internet, and it serves the purpose I wanted so it is the food I used. This chapter is probably the longest one so far, and probably the longest one I will ever write. How the heck do some people do like 8k+ words a chapter? Sidetracked whoops. Reviews!**

 ** _MagicWarriorDragon_ : There's a very high chance that will happen. Thank you so much!**

 ** _HikariCruz_ : Thanks!**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : Thanks for the feedback, I had a lot of fun writing the nightmare! I'm just gonna keep withholding information, if that's okay (even if it isn't okay, I'm keeping my secrets... most of them, anyway)**

 ** _WolfAndBookLover_ : Oh, I'm not sure if you'll ever know for sure what's in the flask, but it's clearly important.**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Thanks! I honestly wasn't sure at first, but I had fun writing that so I put some more Jack-antagonizing-Bunny in this chapter.**

 ** _Guardianship_** **: Well, that's my aim, and it's only going to get worse ;) Here's that update!**

 **Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews this time around! Constructive criticism is appreciated, it's hard for me to catch all the mistakes and inconsistencies.**

 **Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9: A Supposed Death

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

Emma had decided now was a good time to get her mother.

She tip-toed out of the room she shared with Jack, shutting the door behind her. Careful to avoid the floorboards that made the most noise (just like Jack had taught her), she reached her mother's room. The door was already opened, so she moved silently (well, she tried to be silent, and that's what counts) towards the bed.

Abigail Overland was sleeping deeply, and Emma almost hated to wake her. But she was afraid that Jack was dying (he was making the most awful sounds, and Emma was scared!) in his sleep, so Emma had to do this.

"Mom." Emma whispered, tugging on the covers. When that gained no reaction, she tried again. "Mom!" she whispered a little louder, shaking her mother directly this time. All that got was a grumble from the sleeping figure (Grown-ups also didn't like to be woken up! Emma thought that was just for kids).

Emma took a deep breath. "Mom," she said in a normal (albeit shaking) tone, not quite ready to yell. "I think Jack is dying mom you have to come save him because I'm _scared_ and _he didn't come save me from the nightmare!_ " Emma was sobbing by this point, draped over her mother in an effort to wake her up.

Mrs. Overland woke up. "Emma?" she said sleepily. "What is it?"

"Jack's dead!" Emma sobbed, far beyond reason by this point.

"What?" Mrs. Overland sat up in bed, pulling Emma under the covers. "I don't think that's quite right." She climbed out of bed, tucking Emma under the covers. "Why don't I go check on him, you stay here and go back to sleep."

Emma yawned, falling asleep immediately, with tear tracks drying on her face.

Mrs. Overland walked down the hall worrying. Something was definitely wrong, and even if Emma _had_ just had a nightmare, like Mrs. Overland suspected, Jack usually calmed her down. The fact that he hadn't meant he was either sleeping too deeply to hear Emma (impossible, Jack was probably the world's lightest sleeper, he would wake up the second he sensed a presence moving around him), or… he really was dead. She tried to shake the thought from her head. Jack was _not_ dead, not on her watch!

She breathed a little easier when she opened the door to Jack and Emma's bedroom, hearing sounds from under Jack's covers. At least he was alive. She stiffened with alarm when she realised that the sounds were whimpers, and it was only one word, repeated over and over.

" _Ow, ow, ow…"_

"Jack?" Mrs. Overland was afraid that Emma was right, afraid he _was_ dying.

The blankets were bunched up on the bed, Jack hidden inside them, the whole bundle shaking. Mrs. Overland gently unpeeled the covers from around Jack. She stopped with worry, and the realisation that something was _very wrong_ crashed down on her hard when cloudy blue eyes stared at her unseeingly.

* * *

 _It started out dark, and he slowly became aware that it was different this time. The dark wasn't the most threatening part, oh no, this time the cold was much worse. It coiled around him, the only thing that kept the darkness at bay, and he was so afraid that the darkness was simply waiting for the cold to be done with him, and then it would pounce. And the most terrible part? The cold was familiar, like a friend, and it was slowly seeping into him, making his insides want to burst._

 _He was certain it couldn't get worse, when it did. He was suddenly growing, being stretched and squished, shrinking. The lack of anything in this place felt one hundred times more abhorrent as his limbs were pulled and twisted, and he was no longer aware of up or down, standing sitting falling flying-_

 _Something had changed._

 _Was it the light? Maybe. The pain increased, he was being cut, and the cold had locked itself inside him and was struggling to get back out, pressure building inside him. He was about to explode, his insides wanted out, and he found that he didn't care if the light had changed._

 _He struggled; Make it stop, he wanted out! It hurt!_

 _Ow, ow, ow…_

 _Shivering violently, the gloom closed in on him. It seemed to grin, as though claiming a prize, and he was scared witless that_ he _was the prize._

"Jack?"

 _The darkness hesitated, he had seen it! If only that voice would say something again, maybe it would banish the slithering, creeping ailment. Another shiver wracked his body, and the cold burst, ready to break his skin open to get out. It was already trying, if the various pains that littered his body and the liquid that seeped from them were any indication._

 _A sudden thought struck him, and he wondered why the cold had invaded his body if it was only going to try to get out after. Maybe the shadows tricked the cold, he wondered in a brief, mad moment. Maybe the cold would try to get back at the dark, and then he could escape both._

 _The light changed again, a little brighter. If he could just get rid of the darkness he would be able to see what was going on! The darkness hesitated again, and then lunged for him. Still unable to tell which way was which, or even how to move, he simply sat (stood, fell, floated, lay) there, petrified. The darkness swallowed him, and the cold reacted._

 _It rose up and set fire to his nerves, freezing the cuts he could feel on his body, rushing out of him and crashing into the darkness. He felt some relief, the cold had lessened, the darkness was gone, and the wounds seemed to have vanished; no longer hurting, only a dull ache in their place._

 _He shuffled, and his limbs felt awkward. He could feel the cold lingering, and something else. He had to-_

"Jack. Wake up, please."

 _He knew who that was! The voice sent a shiver of light into that emptiness, and the grayness brightened, becoming an off-white color. Wait. Wake up? But that meant… he was asleep! All he had to do now…_

Jack managed to force himself out of his head, and he realised his eyes were already open. He blinked at the face he was looking at.

"M-" His throat was raspy, and, clearing it, he tried again. "Mrs. Overland?"

She sighed, (though she seemed exasperated, he could tell she was relieved) and sat down on the edge of the bed, smoothing his hair away from his face. "It's been almost sixteen years, Jack. You have always had permission to call me mom."

Jack flinched and looked away. "Sorry." He mumbled, though not really having any intention of stopping.

He looked back at Mrs. Overland when she stopped stroking his hair. She was frowning at him, looking perplexed and a little sad.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Fine, I guess." Jack frowned. "Why? Did something happen?" He had been pretty sure dreams, even nightmares, left no visible mark. He hadn't made any sort of sound while he was asleep, had he?

She hesitated, and he took that as answer enough. He sat up, pushing the blankets off him, and in that action he registered several things that were amiss.

The first; his limbs felt distinctly _wrong_ , like he wasn't using them right. The second; Emma wasn't in the room ( _Where is she? Did something happen to her? Please, let her be alright_ ). The third; everything seemed oddly bright, especially for the middle of the night. It was like the colors had been unmuted. And the last; something was awry with the strands of hair that usually hung in front of his face. It took him a few moments to realize it was because his bangs were _white_.

He turned to Mrs. Overland, shaking. "Mrs. Ov- um, mom?"

Her face showed the pace of her thoughts; expressions flickering over her face and ideas glimmering in her eyes. "We'll say you've gotten sick," she said, trying not to let Jack's panicking affect her rationality, struggling to stay poised to calm him down _. **"**_ We can tell Emma it might be contagious, and that she should stay out of the room, just in case."

"But…" Jack trailed off. "How though?" He tugged on his hair, and the feeling of _wrongness_ once again crept up his arm. "How did it happen?"

Mrs. Overland hesitated. She clearly didn't know. "We can figure that out later." She stood, and forced him to lie down again, tucking the covers over him. "Goodnight Jack. Sleep on it, and then we can fix it." She smiled at him fondly, before walking out of the room, footsteps soft, shutting the door behind her.

Jack shuddered under the strangely rough blankets, and forced them off of him. He inspected the underside of the bottom most blanket, and discovered why it felt so rough: there was ice coating it.

His eyes widened, and he remembered the feeling of the cold struggling within him during his dream (Nightmare. Dreams weren't supposed to be scary, dreams weren't supposed to _hurt (burnsqueezecut)_ ), and bursting out of him. Maybe it had happened, maybe it wasn't a nightmare. If the cold exploding out of him in a wave had really happened…

Jack stumbled up, out of bed, nearly tripping over his legs which felt both too long and too short. When he righted himself, he whirled around; searching for the ominous darkness, afraid it would creep and sweep menacingly towards him, ready to swallow him in its depths.

And odd sensation in his feet caused him to pause in his panicked searching. He glanced down, and saw, to his surprise (shock, horror) that there was more ice ( _frost_ , his mind told him helpfully, _don't get them mixed up)_ steadily spreading away from his toes.

Backing away from the frost, Jack bumbled into the window. Nearly falling over, Jack managed to catch himself on the window ledge. Deciding sleep was out of the question (darkness to watch for, cold to keep at bay); the window seemed like the perfect place to settle, with its view of the sky.

The night was cloudy.

* * *

 **A/N: So, would T be the right rating? I'll most likely go into more detail that would require the rating later, so I'll leave it just in case. After three weeks of posting on Monday, I have broken my consistency! Its mostly because I'll be out for a week, so this update is later to even out the waiting time for chapters. Anyway, reviews!**

 ** _Brenne_ : It's relevant to the plot, so I won't tell you, and also because I'm evil.**

 ** _MagicWarriorDragon_ : :D**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : For sure!**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : When is antagonising Bunny not fun? ;) **

**Thank you _so_ much to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10: Quarantine and Results

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me.**

Something was not right when Emma woke up.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the morning light streaming in through the window was in the wrong place. Maybe it was the fact that the bed was a little too big. It might've been the way the bed felt underneath her when she turned, or the blankets that were a bit lighter than she was used to. It was mostly the fact that this wasn't even her room; it was her mother's, which made the morning feel wrong.

When her memories of the previous night returned, however, it was the lack of Jack in the room that unsettled Emma most.

Just like that, Emma snapped awake, the memories of Jack's unconscious whimpering and the strange crackling sound that seemed so loud in wake of her nightmare pulling her from the warm embrace of her mother's bed and tearing down the hall in a way that was more similar to Jack's brand of recklessness.

She found Mrs. Overland at the door to the room Emma shared with Jack. Mrs. Overland had, for whatever reason, decided to sit by the door in the middle of the hallway. There were bags under her eyes, and Emma had no doubt that she had been there all night, worrying over Jack.

Emma sat down on the other side of the door, opting not to go inside the room yet (Just in case he wasn't there, just in case he was worse, just in case- just in case!), and said, "Is Jack okay?"

Emma wasn't sure what she would do if Jack was _gone_. Jack played with her, teased and tricked her, and, most importantly, protected her. If he _died_ \- Emma thought she might become a sort of ghost, tied to the world only by the will of others, longing to be up, up, up with her brother, an empty shell who wasn't _really_ living if something like that happened.

Mrs. Overland looked sad, and scared, and Emma feared the worst before she was told: "He's still alive, and he will continue to live. But," Mrs. Overland drew in a shuddering breath, "You can't see him."

Emma's joy at hearing he was still here (he would still comfort her, poke her nose, read to her!) deflated a bit upon hearing that. "Why not?" she demanded.

"He's sick," Mrs. Overland said, sounding uncertain. "I'm not sure what it is, and it might be contagious. I'd rather keep contact to a minimum until he's better, just to be sure."

Emma understood, even though she wasn't happy with the arrangement. A thought struck her. "How will he get food then, and medicine too, if no one can go in to see him?"

"I'll slip it in at intervals, and he'll be able to get it."

"What if he can't stand up to get it?" said Emma, growing frustrated with the lack of loopholes that would allow her to see Jack. How did he always sneak his way through deals like this?

Mrs. Overland hesitated for a second, and Emma felt a spark of hope that she might be able to go and talk to Jack after all. "I'll set them really close; he won't have to get up."

Emma nearly growled. It wasn't fair! Whatever it was that had given Jack his ability to slip through bargains had not been kind to Emma in that regard, and she was suddenly irrationally angry with Jack for hogging all of the skill for himself, in the way that only children can be. She stomped towards the kitchen, resolving to find a new approach.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Overland was breathing a sigh of relief; now that she'd managed to dodge Emma's questions she could dodge anything. She stood and followed her daughter to the kitchen, deciding to make pancakes to distract her from any devious plans to try and go see Jack (Why on earth did Emma see Jack as a role model? Now she was trying to imitate his mischievous ways). As she mixed pancake batter (and kept Emma in her sight), she remembered something rather important.

"Emma," she said, catching the young girl (who must have been deep in thought) unawares. "After breakfast, could you go to the Inn and tell Mr. Herke that Jack has fallen ill?"

Emma grumbled and groaned, but eventually consented. That taken care of, Mrs. Overland focused the majority of her attention on the hot skillet, and the batter she was skillfully pouring on it. Once Emma had eaten and left (but not without a muttered "You won't distract _me_!" that Emma seemed to think her mother wouldn't hear), Mrs. Overland let out a breath and walked down the hall to where her adopted son was residing, currently hiding himself from the world.

* * *

Emma trudged through the snow, grumbling about being sent out and the absence of Jack that morning. She had to be careful, because even though she knew the way to the village (it was _right there_ , how could she not know?), there were ditches that would bury her in snow if she strayed off the path. It was a lot harder to do that particular morning, as it had snowed a lot the night before and Jack had gotten sick before he could shovel the path clear.

After having only one close call with a pile of snow she reached the Inn. She immediately took her cloak off, not wanting to track snow all over the place, and used the wall to knock snow off her boots. Luckily for her, Mr. Herke was the one up front at the counter right now. She marched right up to him.

"Emma!" he greeted her, sounding too cheery for that early in the morning (Really, he must have had some of that wonderful and rare chocolate drink to be so... agreeable). "Are you alright? Where's your brother?"

"I'm fine Mr. Herke." She said politely. "But Jack is sick, mom doesn't know what he has, so he won't be here today, and maybe not tomorrow either."

His face fell. "Oh, dear." He sighed. "I'll have to see if Sam will cover his shifts." Mr. Herke seemed to be contemplating something. "Do you need anything? I could send some soup back with you, if it would help."

Emma thought about it, but shook her head. "I'm sure we can manage, thank you though." Walking away, she was preoccupied with waving good-bye and almost didn't notice the small man in front of her. "Sandy!"

The sleepy man waved hello, then showed her a piece of paper. Reading it, she said, "He's sick. Mom thinks he fell ill sometime last night." Emma pouted. "She won't let me in to see him. Says she doesn't know what he has, and that it might be contagious."

Sandy looked thoughtful, then shrugged, smiling apologetically at her. Taking this to mean ' _I don't know what it could be, sorry'_ , she replied, "Thanks anyway. Bye Sandy!"

If Emma had been the type of person to be suspicious, or even had she picked up on her mother and brother's wariness of Sandy and his group, she would have noticed the flash of triumph in his eyes at her words.

But she didn't.

Sandy hurried upstairs, glad he had been able to catch Emma as she was leaving the Inn. He genuinely liked her; she was very bright, full of innocence and trust. But at the moment, the words she had said to him were of the most importance.

He burst into room 14, and would have startled Tooth had she not been expecting him to come back, even if she didn't expect him in such a manner. Sandy ignored her surprised questions, and instead, he impatiently tugged her through the door that joined their room to North and Bunny's. Bunny had been awake already; frowning suspiciously at the sky, but North had yet to wake. Sandy sighed in exasperation, and Bunny got a glint in his eyes.

"North," he said, smirking. "The sheila's makin' cookies."

North shot up in bed, apparently wanting to see Tooth (Tooth!) making cookies. When he realised it was a lie, he sighed in defeat. "Was naughty trick, Bunny."

"As if I'd make something with so much sugar." Tooth scoffed. "We just needed you awake. Sandy is really excited."

Sandy beamed, and signs flashed over his head: an odd spark sort of image, a thermometer, and a bread roll.

North figured it out first. "You… have discovered that Jack is sick and that pirozhki worked!" he said jubilantly.

Tooth covered her mouth with her hands, looking alarmed. "We didn't mean to make him sick! North!" she whirled around to face him angrily, dark hair snapping around and almost hitting her face with her quick movement. "What did you put in that food?"

Confronted with an angry Tooth, North backed away. "He is not really sick," he assured her. "At least, if he is, it was not me who made him so. None of us were to eat any of the pirozhki because it would wash away any concealing enchantment, and our work is not done, so we cannot do that yet."

"So why does Sandy say he's sick?" Tooth inquired, not quite convinced.

"'E's probably just trying to hide." Bunny turned to Sandy. "What exactly did you hear?"

Too impatient for his companions to guess at his pictures, Sandy quickly signed, _'His sister said that he had gotten sick overnight, and that their mom said it might be contagious, so she couldn't see him.'_

Bunny nodded, appearing satisfied. "See? The bugger's just hiding in his room." He looked puzzled for an instant. "Wonder why his sister wasn't allowed see him?"

North shrugged. "Was probably lie. When we see Jack, we see what he thinks of magic, and discuss _other_ important things, yes?"

Murmurs of agreement sounded in the room, before the four of them dispersed to begin the day.

* * *

 **A/N: I'll admit, this isn't my favorite chapter, and is sort of a filler. There are a few fillers coming up, aka chapters that are mostly exposition needed so i don't just time-skip all the boring parts (they aren't really boring they're just harder to write). Anyways, there were a lot of lovely reviews** **this time around, so here we go!**

 ** _Brenne_ : Well, I know what's happening, buuuut... you'll have to wait and see :) This chapter might help a bit with that.**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : Honestly, I almost always want to hug Emma. She's just so sweet!**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : Thank you so much!**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : I dropped a few hints, but your reaction means it wasn't too terribly obvious.**

 ** _bluefrosty27_ : You, on the other hand, figured it out in chapter four! (What the heck, how did you do that, I had only just decided that.) I'm not going to tell you much, but I will reveal that I'm not quite going down the 'spirit' route ;)**

 **_Serami Nefera_ : Surprisingly, I think this chapter answers almost all of those questions!**

 **Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews! They make me feel that this story is worth some people's time, and are good motivation to work!**

 **Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11: Gossip is not Useless

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Jack sat at the window all night, keeping his eyes on the shadows in the room, certain they would attack him should he turn his back.

His eyes were watchful, but his mind was otherwise occupied. He pondered how he might go back to his normal form (because this form was not his normal one, he refused to believe that), he mused on how to control the frost spiraling away from his fingers and toes, spilling on the window and covering the ledge, and, in the back of his mind, he wondered if it was his fault that clouds shielded the moon from view, and that a multitude of snowflakes fell gently from the sky (He struggled to keep the other thoughts at bay, the ones that wondered what the clouds would feel like if he touched them, the ones that were curious as to how long he could hang upside down, and he completely ignored the worst of the thoughts, the one that delighted in the feeling of frost leaking from his fingers and wanted to try doing more with this, this _magic_ ).

Most of all, though, he wondered how he had been changed.

He had been drinking from his flask almost religiously, and had been sure to add the proper amount of drops of the _other stuff_. Jack didn't actually know what the _other stuff_ was, only that Mrs. Overland traveled away every few years to refill a bottle with the strange, mud-colored substance (It was from a cauldron witch, she'd said. Near impossible to find real witches, these days, but anyone who called themselves a witch had at least studied magic, and would be able to do _something_ ). No, it couldn't have been a lack of concealment.

Jack's mind ran in circles all night, and successfully came up with nothing. It was wasn't until the clouds outside had lightened that he realised he knew exactly how his hair had turned white, why he felt so wrong, why the world seemed just a little bit brighter, and why _something_ new thrummed within him (something that he was afraid of, something that he knew would spill out of his control with no hesitance).

The pesky, unusual, and officially dangerous group had been on to him the whole time, and inviting them over had been the most foolish thing he could have done.

 _But why did they not confront him directly?_

This bothered Jack. If they thought he was dangerous (and who wouldn't?) they would have studied him for a few day, made a conclusion, and broke the door down to kill him. They were either very subtle (and it really didn't seem like they were), or they had another purpose entirely. Tiana's amethyst eyes flashed in his head again, supporting his second idea.

Jack hopped off the window ledge, noting that his body felt more at ease as he did so. He began to pace the room, wondering if some of the _other stuff_ , undiluted, might change him back. He purposefully didn't glance at his feet, in case the frost had followed him. He heard the door of the house open and close, and caught a glimpse of Emma crunching through the snow towards town through the window. Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Jack turned just in time to see Mrs. Overland enter the room. He noticed her pale complexion, slumped shoulders, and tired eyes.

"I've sent Emma out to tell Mr. Herke you're sick," she said, "I have to keep her out of the house, until we can figure out how to reverse all this," she gestured to Jack, "or until her curiosity abates."

"Send her to the Bennett's." Jack said automatically. "I was supposed to take a lot of the kids sledding, that will take her mind off things, hopefully."

Mrs. Overland beamed. "Perfect. I'll talk to Mrs. Bennett right now, and see if she has any ideas on what you could be sick with." She sagged for a minute, looking exhausted. "It'll keep up appearances. If Emma returns before me, don't let her in, keep careful watch and cover the window. When I get back, I'll take her over and then start to look for a solution-"

"No," Jack said firmly. "I'll look for a solution. You need to rest." He eyed her. "A lot."

There was a hint of a smile on the woman's face. "Jackson Overland," she scolded, trying to appear stern. "Are you commenting on my looks?"

Feigning horror, he said, "No ma'am. You just shouldn't work so hard." He smiled cheekily at her.

Dropping the playful act, she said, "I'll go talk to Mrs. Bennett, you think of what could have caused it, and _definitely_ don't let Emma see you."

Jack's eyes widened. "It was Nick's food! I'm almost certain."

Mrs. Overland nodded thoughtfully. "I thought that was suspicious, but he might just be that sort of person. Or any of them, for that matter. None of them had _seemed_ that dangerous at dinner." A determined look came into her eyes. "I'll keep an eye out for them, just in case." Turning on her heel, she left, and Jack was alone in a room with frost covering the floor.

* * *

Tooth had been tasked with buying a few more days in their rooms at the Inn. North had been too hasty and had only payed enough money to have the rooms for four days. It was clear they would be in Burgess longer than that, so she walked down to the front counter, with enough money for about five more days. It was probably a lot, more than they would need, but they didn't know how fast Jack would get over his 'sickness', and they needed time to talk to him after he was supposedly 'better'.

Tooth smiled at the young man (maybe nineteen?) who was standing behind the counter. He smiled back, muddy brown eyes flicking towards the money to be sure she had the right amount. He wrote something in a book off to the side, and informed her that she and her companions had five more days in rooms 14 and 15. Nodding, and trying not to look smug (she was amazing with numbers, of course she knew how many days they had), she hurried upstairs to grab a small satchel, intending to go to the market and pick up some gossip. Bunny often complained that it was useless ("You just want to talk to lots of people!"), but Tooth knew that word traveled quickly in small towns, and that she would be able to learn something about the male Overland's 'illness'. Quickly telling Sandy where she was going (he was the only one still in the rooms at this point, and he was doing… something productive. Probably), she left the Inn.

Realizing there was no real rush, something she often forgot, Tooth slowed her quick pace. She wandered among the market stalls, and she noted there were fewer than the other days she had been in this small town. It was likely because of the extra snow. Turning a corner, she spotted that lovely woman, Mrs. Bennett, at her stall. As Tooth approached, she noticed two young children (obviously her own) also at the stall.

One was close to Emma's age, in fact, could easily have been part of the Overland family, with his chocolate brown hair and eyes. The other was a much younger girl, a toddler, with messy blonde hair and green eyes she must have inherited from Mrs. Bennett, although the woman's eyes looked different from the child's, since she had brown hair that framed her face. Tooth heard bits of conversation between the children and Mrs. Bennett.

"Aw, c'mon mom! The snow's thick enough for it, and even if we did crash it would be a really fluffy crash!"

Mrs. Bennett pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to pick up the blonde toddler, who was squirming and chanting: "Sled, sled, sled!"

Giving up on trying to lift the child into the air, Mrs. Bennett asked the brunet boy a question, "How many people are going?"

The boy beamed, as though he had been waiting for this. "Well-,"

A frazzled looking Abigail Overland hurried over and interrupted the boy. "Susan, do you think you could watch Emma for the day? Jack has come down with something and she keeps trying to sneak in to see him, even though he's likely contagious."

Tooth slowed her pace even more, trying not to appear as though she was eavesdropping. This was the exact sort of information she wanted to hear!

Before his mother could answer, the brown haired child did. "Yeah! She can come sledding with us!" he frowned. "It's too bad Jack is sick, he was going to go with us too."

Shooting the boy a small frown, Mrs. Bennett said, "We'd be happy to watch Emma for the day. And Jamie, you might not go sledding. I need to know who's going, and where you plan to sled."

"Oh thank you," Mrs. Overland breathed. "I can bring her over here, if you'd-"

"I can get her when we go sledding!" The boy, Jamie, exclaimed. "Please mom, everyone is going! Caleb and Claude, Jane, Monty, Rebecca and her older brother Richard, Pippa, Nathan, Cupcake, Emma, Molly's two younger sisters, and even Lucas is going! You have to let us! We'll be perfectly fine; it's just the hill where the woods end!"

Mrs. Bennett sighed in defeat, her son's onslaught clearly wearing down her resolve. "You may go, as long as it's fine with Mrs. Overland." She darted a glance to the other woman, who nodded.

"Yes!" Jamie shouted with victory, grabbing his little sister's hand and pulling her away. "Come on Sophie! We have to get ready!" Tooth could hear the young girl giggling as she finally reached the booth, turning her head as though she had been looking everywhere, and just sort of arrived there by chance. Bumping into the edge of the market stall, she let out a sound of surprise. When Mrs. Bennett saw who it was she smiled warmly, although Tooth noticed Mrs. Overland looked warily at her for a second.

"Hello!" Tooth chirped cheerily at the two women.

"Tiana," Mrs. Bennett said, "have you met Abigail?"

Tooth nodded, smiling brightly. "We met last night! Ms. Abigail is a wonderful cook!" She sent a dazzling grin Mrs. Overland's way.

"Oh, you invited them over? That's nice, Abigail. I assume it was Emma's idea? Jamie said she liked the one man, what was his name?" Mrs. Bennett thought for a minute.

"His name is Sandy. It was actually Jack's idea to invite them over." At Mrs. Bennett's shocked look, Mrs. Overland elaborated, "Emma immediately agreed with him, but his reasoning was that he wanted to pay them back for taking the two of them out to lunch."

"Which really wasn't necessary," Tooth cut in. "But I wouldn't have wanted to miss that meal." There was a pause in the conversation, and Tooth wondered if Mrs. Overland was looking at her a little resentfully. Shaking it off, she brushed her dark hair behind her ear. "I heard Jack got sick last night, is there anything I can do to help?"

Mrs. Overland immediately shook her head. "That's very kind of you, but I'm not exactly sure what he's come down with, and I would prefer it if as few people came into contact with him as possible."

"Oh," Tooth nodded. "When Sandy told us Emma said he was sick, I was afraid it was an allergic reaction to North's pirozhki. But we got all the ingredients in this market, and a few at the little corner store, so unless he's allergic to anything around here, I don't know what it could be." Tooth lied smoothly.

Looking disheartened, Mrs. Overland said, "He doesn't have many allergies, certainly nothing around here." Nodding a good-bye to Mrs. Bennett, she hurried away.

"Poor thing," Mrs. Bennett frowned at Mrs. Overland's retreating figure. "I don't think Jack has been sick in years, must to be hard on her." She sighed. "She relies on him so much, what with his job. She must be so worried."

Tooth nodded, bought a few apples (Tooth wondered if Mrs. Bennett had magic, it was impossible these apples were still growing this late in winter), and left for the Inn. She laughed, and Bunny said gossip was useless.

* * *

 **A/N: *gasp* What? And update less than a week from the last one? I've gone mad (just kidding I've actually been writing ahead several chapters (trying to stock up for the fast-approaching and dreaded 'school') and needed to put something out, plus there were a lot of reviews last chapter that made me impatient to post so have this chapter). Speaking of reviews...**

 ** _Serami Nefera_ : A few of those should be answered within the next few chapters, I think. Yeah, winter is the darker half of the year because longer nights but will that reflect on Jack? Hmm...**

 ** _MagicWarriorDragon_ : He's still pretty scared at this point, and could use that hug. :D**

 ** _Brenne_ : More is here.**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : (I got really happy reading your review because it had an analytical tone and I really like reading things like that) The way he referred to her was the only way you can tell, aside from the hesitations over calling her 'mom'. as for WHY he is adopted... well, lets just say that's asking the real questions. Anyway, here's that update and thanks for understanding even if I wouldn't be able to. (I find getting away from the story and your usual work space is helpful in finding inspiration ;3) **

**_IReviewThings_ : She might be able to pull it off if said brother wasn't ready for that.**

 ** _the flower bed_ : Thank you so much! Here's an update!**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Thank you, but you think your questions are bad now? *muffled evil laughter* Just you wait...**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : Pirozhki was mentioned in like chapter eight I think. And oh mY GOSH MAN IN MOON SPIT! I almost started crying from laughter reading that!**

 ** _Melancholy's Sunshine_ : No, he certainly isn't. Emma would think that, but Jack kind of has issues so he doesn't know that. **

**Apparently I'm doing something right with this story because it's getting _way_ more attention than I thought it would. Thanks for all the lovely reviews, follows, and favorites!**

 **Until next time!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Floor is Good for Sleep

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks RotG own, not me**.

"But I don't _want_ to go without Jack!"

"Bundle up, Emma; Jamie wants you to go sledding. Don't worry, I'll look after Jack."

"Can't I at least see him and make sure he's okay? I-"

A knock at the door put a stop to the conversation between Mrs. Overland and her daughter. Good thing too, Jack thought, otherwise Emma might have tried to bust the door to the room down, and then she would have _seen_ -

Well, she was still going out and having fun, and Jack decided that was the important part. There was an abundance of thick, fluffy snow, which was perfect for sledding on a hill with trees at the bottom; anyone who crashed had a slightly softer, kinder impact. It would be nice to go with them, even though Jack preferred icy snow, which allowed him to hurtle down the hill at faster speeds. As much fun as it was sure to be, he was more determined to find a cure to his current _condition_.

"Hi Mrs. Overland, hi Emma! Ready to sled?"

Jack heard a muffled giggling, which no doubt belonged to little Sophie Bennett, who had definitely accompanied Jamie to get Emma.

"But-!"

"That's _enough_ , Emma. You go have fun, while I try to find medicine so that Jack gets better." Jack could envision the expression Mrs. Overland must have given Emma, a stern look that he himself had been subjected to many times before. "You _do_ want him to be able to go with you the next time, don't you?"

There was a faint sigh of defeat, then Emma agreed with Jamie, saying; "Yeah, I guess. We have to go around back and get the sled, though." Her voice faded away, and there was the sound of the door closing.

Jack cautiously opened the door, and walked silently towards the kitchen, where Mrs. Overland most likely was resting. It was far too easy to be quiet, and his movements were too graceful considering he had been tripping over himself only a few hours ago. It made him feel uneasy, he was not supposed to be getting used to this body, it wasn't right!

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Jack padded into the kitchen and found Mrs. Overland slumped into one of the chairs, already asleep. He frowned and lifted her out of the hard, wooden chair, planning to take her to her room so she could get a proper rest. She thwarted his plans by shooting awake the moment he touched her, and he flinched away in alarm.

"What? Oh, Jackson, it's just you..." she trailed off, and pushed away some of the hair that had fallen into her face.

Biting his lip, Jack reached forward and took her elbow, gently lifting her up and letting her use him as a support so she could stumble to her room. Once there she collapsed into her bed. Jack pulled the curtains closed and tip-toed out of the room.

"Wait," he heard her mumble, and he turned in the doorway, so she knew he was paying attention. "Don't do anything rash," she muttered, and then she fell asleep once more.

Jack backed out of the room and closed the door quietly, then walked back to the kitchen. He then promptly ignored her advice and took the bottle of _other stuff_ from the highest cabinet. He took his half-filled flask and added another drop to it, then filled the rest with water. He pulled the spare flask from the same cabinet and filled that one too, and put it back. He pulled a small wooden cup from a drawer and considered the bottle of Other Stuff.

It was made of oak wood, and looked very ordinary at first glance, unless one looked closely and noticed the small carvings near the neck of the bottle. There was an abundance of tiny letters, many of which were the ones Jack was used to seeing but a few looked archaic, and he didn't recognize them. There were also pictures, though few and far between. The image of a fox smaller than a thumbnail was carved right near the lid, and a miniscule bear graced the wider part of the neck. A single, solitary squirrel was curled up, cleverly hidden in a natural knot in the wood's grain. Flipping the bottle upside-down revealed the biggest picture of them all (yet even it was small, perhaps it was the size of the bottle's cap): a figure that looked human sitting crossed-legged.

Jack uncapped the bottle and peered inside. There was just under half left, and the bottle would need to be refilled come the next autumn. The liquid inside was a muddy brown, nearly matching the color of his hair (how his hair usually looked, was _supposed_ to look, anyway), viscous and smooth, like syrup, though much more opaque.

Shrugging, Jack poured the bottle's contents into the small wooden cup, until Other Stuff dripped down the side of the cup. Jack swirled the bottle, and heard the remaining liquid slosh around inside. There was enough for a few days if he played his cards right.

Picking up the wooden cup, his adoptive mother's words came back to him. _Don't do anything rash._ Jack hesitated. He looked into the cup, full of Other Stuff, and spotted his reflection in the liquid. Hair unnaturally white ( _unnatural for humans_ , but he pushed that thought away), skin that was too pale to be healthy, and eyes an icy blue. The liquid shifted, and his hair and eyes were brown, and his skin was tanned, flushed a healthy pink. His resolve stiffened, and he lifted the cup to his lips.

Jack had never had Other Stuff on its own, it had always been dilated by water. It tasted much different by itself. He wanted to spit it out and finish in one gulp at the same time. It tasted a lot like the cough syrup from the pharmacy, but sweeter. Too sweet, and as he finished draining the glass his mouth began to burn from the saccharine taste. He rinsed the little wooden cup out with a bit of water from a pitcher and dried it. Putting it back in the cupboard, he began to feel lightheaded. The burn in his mouth seemed to spread to his cheeks, until he was uncomfortably hot. He grasped the counter when he wasn't sure if his legs would support him, and the world faded away from his vision. Leaning heavily on the counter, he felt as though someone had stuffed cotton into his ears. The cotton seemed to leak into his brain, and his thoughts became fuzzy. He imagined Emma sledding with the other kids outside, and he envisioned himself falling into the snow.

There was a thud as Jack toppled off the counter and onto the kitchen floor, eyes open and staring blankly at nothing.

* * *

 **A/N: So this is a shorter chapter than usual, but I really wanted to end there. You're welcome :)**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : I am currently taking great pleasure in revealing things as slowly as possible. There are a few hints in this chapter, but next chapter clears things up.**

 ** _Melancholy's Sunshine_ : I think he has a few more things on his mind to distract him, and he's already out! I'm mean, but not that mean... yet.**

 ** _Serami Nefera_ : Honestly I had so much fun writing him struggling, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

 ** _Brenne_ : What are they going to do with Jack? Don't you mean _to_ Jack? I'm kidding! ...Probably.**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : This cliff hanger is so much worse (Hopefully. I intended it to be, and if it's not I don't know what I'll do)**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : That, my friend, will start to be revealed next chapter! In the meantime, have this tease of a chapter ;)**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : Actually Bunny hitting Jack with a frying pan makes sense! The only other person I ****could see doing that would be Sandy...**

 ** _Guest_ : I heard someone say more so here I am!**

 **Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews last chapter! Hopefully this one is just as good! Also, quick shoutout to _WinterCrystal1009_ and her fic  Restoring Balance. I'd advise you read it, it's pretty good! **

**Until next time!**


	13. Chapter 13: Talk of Fey

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

When Jack came to the light was dimmer, and he was back his room. He was lying in his bed, with blankets piled on top of him. As he was pulled into full awareness, he noticed he was sweating. He tried to shove the blankets off, but found he couldn't feel his arms, much less move them. Panicking, he opened his mouth to yell for help, but he was unable to make a sound. He attempted to move every part of his body, but the only parts that would respond were his eyes and mouth.

He was saved from his internal anxiety when Mrs. Overland entered the room, carrying a small bowl and cloth. She sat at a chair Jack hadn't noticed was right next to the bed, and dipped the cloth in the bowl, then laid the cloth on his forehead. It was cold, and it was a relief from the burning inside him (he questioned the sense in using blankets to keep him warm and a cold cloth to cool him down, but he wasn't exactly a doctor, so it wasn't like he'd know).

He looked at her, and noticed that she somehow looked more tired than before. She noticed him looking and started.

"You're awake!"

Jack blinked at her.

For a second, Mrs. Overland looked like she was about to cry. Instead, she sharply slapped his head. "What did I say about doing something rash?" She scolded.

Jack tried to convey ' _sorry_ ' and ' _to not?'_ at the same time with his expression.

Mrs. Overland hummed, but her face softened. "I don't know what exactly you did, or what you were trying to accomplish, but you gave Emma quite the fright when she came home and saw you lying on the floor." She took the cloth off his forehead and dunked it in the bowl again, then replaced it. "You scared me too, when she woke me up."

Noticing Jack's alarmed countenance, she quickly said, "You look normal again."

Jack relaxed; he didn't want Emma to see him as he had been.

"What did you do, anyway?" Mrs. Overland looked at him expectantly, but Jack didn't even try to respond. "You're being awfully quiet."

Jack opened his mouth again, but was unable to speak once again. He closed it, frowning. Mrs. Overland looked at him sympathetically, but didn't comment. She replaced the cloth again, and pulled some of the top blankets off the bed.

"I hope you don't mind; we took some of the blankets from Emma's bed and she's going to need them tonight."

She exited the room, and Jack was left alone with his thoughts.

…

It was hours later when feeling had come back into his limbs, and Emma was asleep in her bed across the room, since Jack had happily been deemed 'not contagious' by Mrs. Overland. It took him a few tries, but Jack was eventually able to sit up in bed. His eyes darted around the room, searching just in case the darkness from his dream was there with him. It seemed a silly thought, now that the light of the waxing moon poured into the room, but it had been a very realistic fear last night.

Emma's soft snores broke him from his haunting thoughts. When she had come into the room she had been ecstatic to see him, and had hugged him tightly before bouncing into bed. One last glance at her peaceful, sleeping form and Jack was reassured enough to fall asleep.

* * *

 _He was strapped to a wooden pole, and there were many figures milling about, and placing bundles of wood around him. He struggled against the ropes that held him, knowing what was happening._

 _They were going to burn him._

 _Dry leaves were added, pine cones, and thick branches. They were stacked up, surrounding him. The figures that moved around gained faces that were angry, or fearful. They were familiar faces, and he realised it was the other families in town. He spotted Mary the housekeeper, her face hard. He saw Seth the dishwasher and Sam carrying more wood to add to the pile that encircled him. Molly the laundry girl grabbed the hands of her two younger sisters and pulled them away, casting a terrified glance back at him. Jane and Rebecca, Emma's two friends, sneered at him. Adam, the other dishwasher, was trying to light a fire to a sturdy piece of wood, trying to create a torch. Mrs. Bennett tucked her children behind her. Various people that he knew, and were friends with, scowled or cowered, and everyone added dry material to the pile he was in the middle of. The only faces that portrayed a different expression were those of the foreigners. They radiated smugness, and he knew immediately that they were the reason he was in this situation, tied up and about to be burned._

 _Mr. Herke stepped forwards, a torch in his hand, and shouted, "No longer will we let this monster infest our town!"_

 _He was answered by roars of approval from the crowd. He lifted the torch high, then brought it down on the edge of the pile._

 _The dry leaves caught fire first, then the pine cones. It spread to the twigs, and hungrily ate away at the large branches. It crept towards him, and he was reminded of darkness for a second (a crazy thought, the flames were anything but dark), impending doom creeping towards him. There was a moment that seemed to last an eternity, just before the fire would engulf him. In that single, crystal clear moment, he saw_ her _._

 _She stood away from the fire, and did not participate in the cheers of the others. Her eyes were disappointed. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away, her posture portraying fright and disgust._

 _Emma shouldn't be afraid of me, he thought, just as the flames touched his clothes._

 _It was the last coherent thought he had before the deluge of fire washed over him, and his screams filled the air._

* * *

North was surprised to see Jack at the counter the next morning, looking a little more tired and pale than usual, but otherwise normal.

"Greetings!" he boomed, a large smile on his lips. "Heard from sister you were sick, am glad you are better now."

Jack looked down and muttered a thank you.

North hesitated, then placed a simple breakfast order. It would be better to talk to Jack with the others, and also when Jack was not working. He chuckled internally; no, it would not do for other people to overhear this particular conversation.

Jack exhaled when Nick walked away. After that nightmare there was no way he was going to draw attention to himself around those four. All he had to do was avoid them until they left town. It would be easy.

He sighed, who was he kidding? There was no way they would just leave him alone, not after all the interest they'd shown in him.

Methodically Jack took the food Nick had ordered to his table, and noticed with dread the other three had joined the bearded man. Jack was all smiles and politeness on the outside, and he desperately hoped the foreigners wouldn't notice the nervousness he felt was so obvious around them.

"So, how much longer will you be in town?" he asked, with what he hoped was a casual tone.

"We're hoping only a few more days," Tiana said, her usual cheery smile gracing her lips.

"Ah!" Nick exclaimed, staring directly into Jack's eyes (Jack hoped the man didn't notice how he broke eye contact immediately). "We have business to attend to, and then we will be on our way."

Suppressing a shiver, Jack excused himself quickly. He _really_ hoped the 'business' they were referring to didn't involve burning him. What he really needed, Jack decided, was a way to leave town quickly. As he wandered back to the counter and gave the orders of the other three to the cook, he tried to think of a good reason to leave. Drumming his fingers against the counter, he sighed. Burgess was a fairly self-sufficient town. The soil was good for growing crops, there were two clean water sources, the forest provided wood, and the landscape was ideal for animals; which were, of course, the reasons a town had been built here. There was trading with other small towns for nicer fabrics, metals, and other things that weren't nearby, so there wasn't much reason to go anywhere, except perhaps to visit relatives in another town.

Other Stuff! He could journey out to refill the bottle of Other Stuff! That would not only solve the predicament of running out of it, but also take him away from the danger that Sandy, Tiana, Nick, and Aster posed. All he had to do was ask Mrs. Overland.

That in mind, he brought the rest of the food to the table in a considerably lighter mood.

Jack was just exiting the Inn, shift finished early afternoon, when he heard someone approach him. Turning around, he saw that it was several someones, and none of them were a welcome sight. Nick was in the lead, walking determinedly, while Tiana, Aster, and Sandy followed. Tiana was characteristically bubbly, bouncing as she walked. Aster, predictably, was grumpy (Jack rarely saw him as anything but), and Sandy was serene. Jack turned his head forwards again, hoping they hadn't noticed him looking.

 _Don't talk to me don't talk to me don'ttalktome-_

"Jack! Wanted to talk to you!"

 _Great._

He felt a large hand grab his shoulder and forcibly steer him towards the woods.

"Whoa, what are you-?"

"Relax, mate. We figured we'd talk by the river." Aster was the only one in front of him, while the others were beside him. Aster sounded pleased with the little ambush. "The rest o' the world might be frozen, but it ain't."

Jack huffed. "Well, how do you know I don't have other things to do?"

He saw Sandy waving in his peripheral vision, and turned his head to see what the little man wanted. Sandy held up a small piece of paper. Taking the paper, Jack saw that it read: _'You got out earlier than usual, so I'm sure you have extra time. And we really do just want to talk.'_

Jack couldn't logically come up with a counter argument, so he allowed himself to be pushed along; despite the bad feeling he had about this.

The river was surrounded by untouched snow, though the river itself was still moving on its course. When Nick let go of his shoulder, Jack whirled around to face him. "What did you want to talk about that requires being in a secluded area in the woods?" he demanded.

"Not much," Aster said, shifting uncomfortably in the snow. "Just-"

"Just wanted to ask your opinion of magic." Nick interrupted cheerfully.

Jack's eyes widened. "Magic?" he repeated uncertainly. He gathered his wits, certain he would have to outsmart the group so as to avoid ending up with the fate he had recieved in his most recent nightmare.

"Yeas," Tiana said delicately. "More specifically your views on the laws surrounding it, and the prosecution of some," she hesitated "non-human creatures."

Well. That was not quite what he had been expecting. "The laws are fair," he said automatically. "There are few magic users left, given that most counties have sub-laws that ban magic completely within their borders, though I have heard of a few places that welcome them."

Sandy held up a larger piece of paper that read _'We have traveled through some of them. There is even a small number of magic-only communities.'_

Jack nodded slowly. "Well the law is right to allow them to practice their craft. Magic is dangerous, but I suppose it has its uses."

Nick laughed. "'Has its uses'? You make it seem as though it can be used for pain or practicality only! What about using it to enchant toys, or-"

Aster clapped a hand over Nick's mouth. "That's gettin' a bit off topic, don't you think?" He removed his hand when Nick nodded.

"Yes, but what about magic creatures?" Tiana asked eagerly, and Jack sense that this was what they most wanted to hear him talk about.

Jack looked up, trying to recall the different creatures he was taught, that _everyone_ is taught when they're young. "If I remember correctly, pookas all died out during the war, which is a shame because I heard they were mostly peaceful, deadly if attacked, but peaceful enough that they weren't dangerous.

"Goblins are nasty from what I recall. We've never had any in Burgess, at least not in my lifetime, but there was an infestation a few years ago a couple towns over." Jack shuddered. "There was a story that they hate all other species and try to leave people disabled, not killed.

"I think trolls are… not exactly the smartest, but have brute strength. Giants are a legend, nobody has seen one for ages so they're probably all dead." He could feel the eyes of the others on him, but he stubbornly kept his gaze to the sky. "The idea of dryads is sort of creepy. They could potentially be any tree or bush, though I'm almost positive there's a way to tell. The same goes for naiads.

"I think dwarves like mining but stay out of everything. Shooting Stars are rare; I remember hearing that there've only ever been five living ones at a time. They're okay, I guess, though I'm not exactly certain what they do. Witches don't really count as magic users, I don't think, because witches have definitely been outlawed. Real witches, anyway. There might be some charm witches and cauldron witches, but legitimate witches? Dark magic, but dead." Jack finally brought his gaze back to earth, and to the faces of those who had dragged him out here.

Tiana seemed almost reluctant to say something, but when it was clear he was done talking she asked; "What about fey?"

What about fey indeed. Jack felt a shiver run up his spine at the mention of them. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to block the images of frost on the floorboards from his mind. "Fey were by far the most dangerous," he said, ice in his tone as he opened his eyes. "They cared for nobody, not even their own kind. They killed without mercy, and happily from what the stories say. They would magically persuade people to do things they would never normally do. They used glamours to blend in and get what they wanted from humans, and all other species." There was a growing fury in his voice, and a few small flakes had begun to drift from the sky. "Half of the fey were drunk most of the time and ate people, burned towns, or turned people into various animals! They did whatever they wanted and hurt a lot of species, and were the main cause of the war! It's a good thing iron shatters their illusions and harms them, otherwise we'd never be rid of them!"

Panting slightly from his rant, Jack leaned against one of the nearby trees. For almost a full minute the only sound was the water running along the riverbed. Nick chose to break the silence first.

"That is…" he stroked his beard. "Quite the passionate response."

"You sound like-" Tiana broke off and walked away.

Jack looked after her curiously, remembering his suspicions about her specifically. Were they true?

Aster shifted uncomfortably. "The sheila was probably gonna say that you sounded like they'd done something to you personally. She took that hard because…" He glanced around, as though looking for inspiration. Sandy signed something to him, and Jack suspected it was more than just suggesting how to phrase the words. Nodding, Aster said, "She had someone go after her because they thought she was fey and…"

"She does not like strong opinions of them?" Nick tried. Jack raised his eyebrows and filed that away, but nodded.

"Well, tell her I said sorry, but I really do have to go now." Jack edged away from the remaining members of the group, and, pretending not to notice the glances they exchanged, he darted away once he was out of their sight. When he was safely within sight of his house, he took a deep breath in and exhaled heavily after holding it for a few seconds. Trying to calm his racing heartbeat, he pulled out his flask and took a drink, ignoring the burn that seemed to accompany every sip had taken since he drank a good portion of Other Stuff undiluted.

 _Now I really want to leave this town before they catch me_ , he thought, entering the house.

* * *

Knocking gently on the door, Sandy entered room 14 to find Tooth sprawled on her bed, looking around listlessly.

"We aren't all bad…" she whispered, looking at him with amethyst eyes that sparkled with unshed tears.

Sandy gave her a small hug and helped her lie down. He pulled the blankets over her and stroked her hair. Frowning thoughtfully, he directed some of his sand to retrieve a small box that North had given him. It was made by fairies (one of the branches of fey that generally kept to themselves), but North had added a few extra enchantments over it. Cracking the lid, the glowing golden sand swirled around the object that was carved on the inside of the box, activating its magic. Soft music began to play, the sound of a single, finely tuned violin and the soft trickle of water pouring out of the small container. Smiling, Sandy set the box beside Tooth and put her to sleep with his sand. He then walked into room 15, where North and Bunny were in fierce discussion.

"What could 'e be?"

"Magic user?"

"Nah, this town's laws allow 'em. The whacker wouldn't bother to hide if 'e was."

"None would make sense! Either he does not fit them or speaks disapprovingly of them!"

Sandy waved his hand for their attention, but was ignored.

"It ain't like he mentioned all of them."

"Alchemist, maybe?"

"Does 'e really seem the sort?"

Sandy picked up a nearby wooden ball with a few painted markings on it.

"He must practise magic in some way; otherwise we would not be here!"

"Too right!"

Sandy threw the ball with accuracy, knocking Bunny over. The markings must have been magic. Oops.

Once Bunny was back on his feet (though rubbing his forehead), Sandy flashed symbols at them. The spark image from the morning before, a human figure, a human figure waving its arms around (clearly going on some sort of tirade), a human figure talking to another before suddenly changing and attacking the other, and the spark image repeated. Letting his symbols dissipate, Sandy looked at the others expectantly.

After a long moment, North said; "You think he's fey? After that outburst?"

"You're off your rocker, mate." Bunny said when Sandy nodded.

Sandy shrugged, but pinned them with a glare that told them to consider it, and returned to room 14.

Bunny rubbed his face. "D'ya think 'e was just being a show pony with that rant? Trying to convince us 'e hates fey to throw us off?

"Could be," North said, after a lengthy pause. "I will take first patrol, you take morning. We spare Toothie and Sandy tonight, yes?"

"Sounds like a plan." Bunny muttered (though it wouldn't have mattered, as North had already left the room).

* * *

 **A/N: First semester has begun, beware of slower updates. I'm going to get right to reviews, then an extra message.**

 _ **WinterCrystal1009**_ **: That works too. No problem!**

 _ **Guest**_ **: This chapter is pretty intense.**

 _ **IReviewThings**_ **: These kinds of answers? (insert some kind of smirking face here)**

 _ **MagicWarriorDragon**_ **: ;)**

 _ **I'm the lonely life**_ **:** **Buckle up! Now that you've joined, there's no escaping... especially since **I** _ **love**_ **writing cliffhangers.****

 ** _Mikayla elwood_ : Yes, there used to be another chapter, but it was the wrong one so it isn't there right now. That was a mistake on my part. Glad you liked it, and here's that update!**

 **And for _the purple hippocampus_ , _Serami Nefera_ , _Brenne_ , and _KorrieChan_ , I won't be answering your reviews this round because they applied to the other chapter, and I've spoiled enough with that accident. But a lot of people wondered about this world, so if you're curious I'm going to explain it a bit.**

The world is a blend of early 1700's America, modern times, and some sort of magical place inside my head that took inspiration from every fantasy book I've ever read (aka made up). As far as the 'magic creatures' thing goes, they are based off other things (books), but certain tenancies/properties/elements of them are different than what you may have seen because this is an Au and I'm doing what I want (I'm mostly kidding, it's for the plot). More should be revealed eventually but I wanted to clear that up.

 **Big thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited. *covers face with hands* Again,** ** _really_** **sorry about the mix up in chapters last time, especially to anyone who read the wrong version and now has spoilers. (More thanks to** ** _the purple hippocampus_ , _Serami Nefera_ , _Brenne_ , and _KorrieChan_ , because without your reviews I probably wouldn't have noticed something was wrong.)**

 **Until next time!**


	14. Chapter 14: Going on a Trip

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

It was dark, but the sun always set earlier in the winter. Emma had been put to bed, and the small living room in the Overland house was quiet, save for the crackling of the flames in the hearth and the tapping of Jack's fingers on the wooden arm of a chair.

"You want to go where?"

"Go refill the bottle of Other Stuff. I think…" Jack paused. "I think it would be best to leave town for a few days."

Mrs. Overland lowered her sewing to her lap and pursed her lips. "I'm not saying you're wrong, but why? And if you want to tell me where you plan to go, young man, you ought to tell me what it is you plan to do. I don't know what 'Other Stuff' is."

"Oh." Jack thought for a few minutes, and Mrs. Overland resumed her stitching. "The group at the Inn, I think they might try something soon. I really don't know what, but I'd rather not be around them. I don't know what Other Stuff is actually called, you never told me. It's the other stuff that I put in here." He held up his flask and shook it, resulting in a soft splashing sound from with the container.

Mrs. Overland looked up for a second to see what he was taking about and laughed, though quietly so as not to wake Emma. "I don't suppose I have told you," she hesitated, as though uncertain whether or not to disclose the information. Clearly deciding against it, she said, "You don't even know where to go to get more."

"Yeah, well," Jack struggled for an answer, "I know you always travel east to refill the bottle, and you would never pass through the Kroey County, so it's between there and here." Mrs. Overland's shocked face told him he'd gotten it right, so he pushed on. "The map of Amadkio shows the city of Grusiri, which not only allows magic, but encourages it. It's very conveniently a few towns east of here, so that's probably where to go."

Mrs. Overland got over her surprise quickly. "You _would_ need to go to Grusiri. They have a small section that is dedicated to keeping any old remains of magic alive. You could find someone there to refill the bottle. But," here she smirked, "how do you plan on paying for a refill?"

"I- um, well, I was just going to, um," he fumbled for an answer before sighing in defeat. "I don't know."

She nodded knowingly. "I will send you with coins for traveling, but cauldron witches in particular like to trade a concoction for another piece of magic." She raised her eyebrows at him meaningfully.

Jack's face hardened. "No, not only is that dangerous, but it's-"

"Necessary." Mrs. Overland cut him off. "The last few magic trinkets I had stored away from your mother are gone. You would have needed to do it anyway."

He slumped over in his chair. "Fine, but I plan to leave early in the morning. Just tell me the actual name of Other Stuff, and then I'll pack a bag."

Mrs. Overland looked thoughtful. "In truth, you might not even need the name, the way the bottle looks would be an indicator of what's inside…" Catching sight of Jack's unamused face, she amended, "Alright, it's called-" she broke off. "I'll write it down for you."

Mrs. Overland carefully set the fabric she was stitching on the chair and went into the kitchen. She returned moments later with a scrap of paper, which she was folding. "Here." She handed it to him and sat down to resume her sewing.

Jack unfolded and re-folded the paper, to be sure that she had really written down the name. He stood, ready to pack a bag, but hesitated a moment. Looking at Mrs. Overland shyly, he gave her a short hug. "Thanks, mom." He whispered, then darted away down the hallway to quietly get ready for the journey.

Mrs. Overland sat very still for a moment, looking rather pleased. The only times Jack ever addressed her as 'mom' lately was to appease her insistences that he do so, or in front of others to avoid suspicion. Shaking her head and forcing an exasperated look she muttered, "Silly boy, it only took you six years."

* * *

Jack had a small knapsack, which he had filled with things he planned on bringing. A spare change of clothes, a small pouch with the coins Mrs. Overland had given him, several apples and some bread, the nearly empty bottle, and a _very_ old book that he was told had belonged to his parents. He also had his flask strapped to his side, but that was a given. It wasn't much, but he was certain it was all he would need.

He slept on one of the chairs in the living room, not wanting to wake Emma with his early departure. Turns out he needn't have worried. Mrs. Overland had decided that, despite Jack wanting to let Emma sleep, saying good-bye was more important. Jack woke up with Emma's reproachful face leaning over him.

"How could you leave without saying good-bye, or even telling me you were leaving?" she whined, climbing onto him despite his awkward sleeping pose. He let out an 'oof' as she settled on his legs. She glared at him. "You haven't played with me in _forever_ , and now you're going away!"

Jack winced, feeling guilty. She was right, he hadn't played with her lately, what with being 'sick' and worried over the foreigners at the Inn. "It's not for forever; it'll only be a two-day journey there, a day to stay in the city, and a two-day journey back. I'll play with you as soon as I'm home."

"Exactly!" she wailed, slumping over him as he shifted to a more comfortable position. "That's five days, which is _forever_! And you might not even play with me right away when you get back." She looked accusingly at him.

"Hey, we can play hopscotch the _minute_ I get back."

"Promise?" She said, looking at him with big, pleading eyes.

"I promise. Even if it's the middle of the night." He tweaked her nose teasingly.

"Jack! I don't want to play in the dark." She giggled.

"Well, then maybe I'll wait for morning, how's that sound?" Jack managed to get off the chair, still holding on to Emma. She squealed when he twirled her around and set her on her feet.

"Okay," she agreed. "I can wait until morning." She re-considered. "But ONLY if you get here in the middle of the night. You have to play right away if you get home during the day."

Jack chuckled, bending down and giving her a hug. "Works for me," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Love you, Em. Don't cause trouble for mom."

Standing, Jack faced Mrs. Overland and gave her a hug too. "Be careful." She whispered, hugging him a little tighter.

He laughed, putting up a brave front and releasing her. "I will."

Slipping on some shoes by the door and fastening his cloak over his knapsack, Jack examined a tall staff with an angular crook at the end. It was the shepherd's staff he used during the summer to help Mr. William with the sheep. He shrugged and took it. It was a weapon of sorts after all, and there was no telling what he might come across. Besides, shepherds were considered harmless. A younger shepherd like himself wouldn't be selling anything, so he would likely also be deemed honest and trustworthy. He grasped it more firmly; a weapon that doubled as a tool to help him blend in with the crowd, very useful.

He stepped outside, cloak fluttering in the early-morning breeze. Turning around as he shut the door, Jack flashed Emma and Mrs. Overland one last grin. Then he set off for a five day trip and a break from the mysterious, nosy group.

Or so he thought.

* * *

The door to room 15 slammed open, waking North and admitting a frantic Bunny. Not pausing to say anything to North, Bunny rammed the door between their room and room 14 open as well.

"Bunny," North said tiredly. "What is fuss?"

Ignoring North completely, Bunny said "Everybody up! We have a big problem!"

Tooth drifted into the room, Sandy rubbing his eyes sleepily right behind her.

"That bloody kid's skippin' town!"

That woke everybody up.

A few symbols appeared above Sandy's head, but were lost in the sudden scrambling as the other three tried to gather everything together and pack up so they could leave as soon as possible.

"Are you sure he left?" Tooth asked, darting back and forth between rooms and organising things into piles.

"Yeah, saw 'im leave with a traveling bag a few minutes ago. If 'e ain't leaving then I don't know what 'e's doin'."

"Quickly!" North boomed. In a quieter tone (everyone had shushed him), he said, "We must leave S.A.P.!"

Bunny rubbed his forehead. "North, it's A.S.A.P."

North waved a hand, shoving blankets into a large bag. "Is the same thing, no? We leave and track down Jack. May have had bad moment yesterday but we will fix."

Tooth exchanged a glance with Sandy, who was calmly allowing his sand to drift about the room and put things into the four bags they possessed. North had enchanted each bag to be able to hold many things without too much weight being added, but they did have a limit. Tooth tugged an extra bag out of her own and carefully placed the items remaining in the room into it.

"Guys," she interrupted Bunny and North (who were squabbling about who-knows-what by this point), "We can leave now."

Sandy was out the door first, followed by Tooth. North pushed past Bunny, who was left to grab the two keys off the nightstand. Tromping down the stairs, but quietly, they passed the empty front counter. Sandy stayed behind a moment after Bunny (who placed the keys on the counter) to scribble out a note detailing their thanks for staying, and that they had left. Satisfied, he followed the others, eager to track down Jack Overland and make him _listen_ to them.

* * *

 **A/N: So, some of you may recognize this chapter from the mix up (Now edited!). Although that was terrible, I'm glad I'd written ahead otherwise I wouldn't have anything to post. Side note, Amadkio is like the country/kingdom, and Grusiri is a city/town like Burgess.**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Thank you! Insights to Jack's past will come very slowly because I'm trying to drive you all mad. I feel you, even though I don't have English this semester essays still require formal writing. **

**_Mikayla elwood_ : Well, it is important to the plot, it just wasn't cleaned up, and it was posted too early. Here it is! ~September Birthday Bros~ Happy belated Birthday! *Throws confetti***

 ** _IReviewThings_ : Basically. Yeah, being burned alive would be terrible (worse than drowning, in my opinion, but I've never drowned or been burned so I wouldn't know). Tooth appreciates the hug!**

 ** _WolfAndBookLover_ : Patience, my friend... All good things come to those who wait...**

 ** _the flower bed_ : Sandy is often right, but does anyone listen? Not really.**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : I'm sure this chapter makes sense now too. I... know things that no person should ever know... (I hope nobody thought I was possessed with the way I was laughing from reading your review)**

 ** _PinkCherryBlossom_ : Thanks!**

 ** _ROTGFANGIRL_ : THANKS. WHY ARE WE YELLING?**

 ** _Serami Nefera_ : Veeeeery personal. I felt bad for Tooth, and I'm the one who wrote it!**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : Close. Very close. Too close. *whispers* They're on to us...**

 **I'm so grateful for all the follows, reviews, and favorites!**

 **Until next time!**


	15. Chapter 15: Prank Protection

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Jack had left Burgess just as the sun's rays were beginning to touch the town, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he left the group behind, certain that he was safe from them and whatever they had planned to do to him.

The snowfall from a few nights before had melted a bit, but had re-frozen so the top of the snow was icy and crunched underfoot as he walked. Jack headed east from Burgess, towards the small town of Aeth. It was one of the few he would pass through today, and he would end up spending the night in Sebrub, halfway to Grusiri, his destination. He grinned, a bounce in his step as he entertained the idea that he might get back sooner than planned. It wasn't likely, but if he could find a cauldron witch the night of arrival he might be able to leave the day after, and not need to spend the extra time in Grusiri (which he was sure was a very nice city, but he didn't want to be there longer than he had too).

The journey was pleasant for the majority of the day; Jack had eaten lunch in the second town he passed through, just after noon. After that town, he began to feel uneasy, like he was being followed. He whirled around often, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever- or _what_ ever- might be tailing him, but he saw neither hide nor hair of anything (unless you count that squirrel that scampered up a tree or that swarm of small birds that had zipped by him quickly, chittering all the while. Jack didn't count those as suspicious). He was ridiculously jumpy by the time he reached Sebrub at dark, the only place he had been so far with more than one inn.

Jack was so eager to get inside and away from the feeling of eyes on his back that he accidently entered a small shop first. This turned out to be a good thing, for the shop owner (a portly man with red hair, a beard, and a love of hiding treasure) informed him that the April Inn was the cheaper inn, though one of the younger boys who lived at the inn played pranks on a lot of people, so he had to be careful of that. Thankful, Jack bought one of the man's wares (some sort of bottle that promised rainbows in sunlight?) and left for the April Inn.

Jack could tell immediately that the store owner was right about the inn. It was fairly cheap (cheaper still since Jack often ran a front counter and knew how to haggle over room prices) to get a small room for one, but he almost tripped over a small boy on his way upstairs. Jack could have sworn he heard the boy say, "Aww, he didn't fall." as he walked away.

Jack lit the gas lamp in his room (number 5?) and began to ward off any possible pranks right away. Being a Master Trickster himself, Jack knew what to look for. The window locked from the outside, so Jack jammed it shut; nobody was getting in that way. He pressed the walls; although it didn't seem likely, there could be some sort of passageway (thankfully there weren't). The only other 'interesting' feature in the room was a trapdoor concealed under the bed, which Jack moved one of the bedposts on top of. Thankfully there was a latch on the door that prevented people outside getting in, even if they had a key.

Eating the last of the apples and bread (darn, now he would have to buy more food) Jack opened the book he had brought. He couldn't read the title, and he didn't have hope for the rest of the book, but he wanted to try anyway. Flipping through the pages, he grew increasingly frustrated with the words that were _almost_ readable, like the letters had been warped with water. An oddly green-tinged paper slipped out from between two of the pages. Handwriting covered it in the same unreadable script as the book. Though neat, the writing was obviously scribbled quickly, and Jack tried in vain to read it. To his surprise, one word at the top of the page was legible. Jack's blood ran cold at the sight of the clear term, and he wondered offhandedly why _this_ was the one word that was in Amadkian script.

 _Frost_.

* * *

 _It had been a small class, but there were only a few of his age in Burgess. The war had taken adults and children alike, and the rebuilding had just been finished. Magical damage normally took longer to fix than regular defacing._

 _He remembered how the first of the classes were free, lessons the adults thought everyone should be taught in wake of the war. The class about non-human beings._

 _There was Seth; a little boy with blond hair cropped close to his head who felt he had learned all there was to know from his parents and older brother. Thomas and Olivia; the pale, brown haired twins that looked nothing alike aside from their hair (He remembered they had moved away a couple years later). Adam, a black-haired boy with dark skin and a never-give-up attitude. Mary, a tanned girl who refused to cut her black hair, was tall for her age, and liked to talk a lot. Molly; a bubbly five-year-old who was excited to hear more stories about magic and liked her brown hair cut short, but not too short. And himself; the second youngest (almost six) who was cautious around people he was unfamiliar with._

 _The classes had started out well enough. The twins' mother taught this class, using the letters her husband (who had died in the war) had sent her as reference. She didn't try to scare the children; on the contrary, she told the lessons as stories, and omitted all the worst details. The first class had been a simple fairy tale of humans versus fey, with fey as the 'bad guys' and humans as the 'good guys', the winners. It was like the games the children sometimes played, one side always winning and the other always losing._

 _As he grew up, the stories became more detailed. Non-humans weren't simply presented as 'bad', but the kids were told of the terrible things that they did. Eventually, the twins and their mother moved away from Burgess, and there was a new person who taught the class that spread awareness about magic. He was called Mr. P, and he was tall, with black hair that was slicked back and had eyes that seemed to know your darkest secrets. He was in Burgess for only a week, but that was enough time for all the children in his lessons (even the older ones) to mysteriously become 'sick'._

 _He spoke of terrifying tales that he claimed had actually happened. Leprechauns that gave people cursed gold, dwarves with impenetrable armor that fought until their enemies were dust, goblins that tore into flesh with wicked claws, and centaurs that trampled people like wild barbarians._

 _The worst stories had been the ones about the fey-people. Tiny pixies that pulled at people's ears, noses, toes, and fingers until they fell off and the people were found with blood pouring out their eyes sockets, for the pixies collected the eyeballs off your newly dead body. Tall and alluring elves that tricked people into confinement and made humans labor for them. Deceivingly cute fairies who cried for help and ravaged the house of the human who had taken pity on them. Flocks of fey that hunted for blood, and often killed any who got in their way; humans, vampires, and even other fey. They would get drunk and rip humans apart in front of their families, then coat the onlookers in the blood of the dead human before tearing them apart too._

 _Mr. P. always looked right at him when he told these stories._

 _Fey children are very weak, they were told. They are unable to glamour themselves for safety, are more vulnerable to iron, and often give themselves away by screaming in their own strange language. Fey children are abandoned the moment they are able to perform magic themselves, usually around eight or nine years old. Always kill a fey child, Mr. P. had told them, eerie golden eyes gleaming maliciously._

 _When he left, there were no lessons for two weeks afterwards, but his teachings left a lasting impact on the children. During play-time they whispered of nightmares and checked over their shoulders for the creatures they swore were ready to get them._

 _He never shared his nightmares. Much like the others', there was an assortment of creatures that attacked the humans, often turning in on themselves and attacking everything. He didn't share his nightmares though, because_ he _was fighting the people,_ he _was one of the strange creatures that fought so viciously. That was terrifying._

 _He remembered the teachings about non-humans becoming less violent, less prejudiced against them and more informative after that. It didn't matter; the scar of the previous lessons was one he still carried._

 _When they were eight those particular lessons stopped, there were more important things to learn and the children didn't need fairy tales as a distraction. He had been the most pleased to see those classes gone, Seth and Adam agreeing with him whole-heartedly. The girls were more upset, Mary had recited the lesson on gnomes in farewell to the classes and Molly had come up with the idea to write down everything they knew in a book, which the two had worked on tirelessly until completion._

 _They were nine when they completely stopped being taught about the non-human creatures (the lessons might be gone but their parents had a few more things to say), and they rarely heard about them again aside from the occasional remark and gleeful exclamations from younger siblings (if they had any). He had had different sorts of dreams then, ones that made him restless, bouncing off the walls with energy (Mr. P.'s stories tried to creep into his mind then, had tried to remind him of something, but he was impatient and decided not to care)._

 _He remembered when he had been told of Secrets Most Important at age ten. It had been the same year that Mr. Overland had run off, and he had been told it was a seed of madness planted in his mind by fey that had driven him to do so, and that Mr. Overland was probably dead. He'd hid behind Mrs. Overland's skirts for weeks after that, afraid of everyone._

 _He remembered learning the signs of certain people who pursued the last remains of fey in hopes that the species could be decimated forever. He remembered always the wickedness of the fey, their foul deeds and immoral ways._

 _And he remembered wondering what that made him._

* * *

Jack gasped awake, early morning sunlight streaming in through the jammed window. Somehow, that had been the worst of the nightmares. He moved quickly, wanting to purchase some more food for the rest of the journey and leave this town quickly. After dressing himself in the clean clothes, he gathered the items he had brought and put them back in the bag. He hesitated over the old book, with its odd language, and slipped the green paper back between its pages.

He remembered the shop owner's advice just before opening the door, and Jack braced himself just in case something was to happen. Despite preparing himself, he jumped when he saw the little boy who'd tried to trip him the night before standing just outside the room.

"You jammed the window," he said, pouting.

"Yes," Jack agreed, carefully schooling his features into a blank expression. "I blocked the trapdoor too." If there was one thing Jack knew, it was how to spot someone who was ready to misbehave (and how to cause trouble himself, but that was beside the point), and this little boy, with his red hair and brown eyes glittering with mischief, had many plans to do just that. But Jack had thwarted him once and he could do so again, easily.

The boy's face erupted into a smile. "Good job. Nobody's noticed before." He held out his hand for a hand shake. Jack evaded him and ruffled the boy's hair instead.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Jack asked as he moved down the short hallway to leave the inn.

The boy scrambled to keep up; looking put-out that Jack hadn't fallen for his trap. "Pranks." He grinned, certain that that would confound the older boy.

Jack, however, had a response ready. "Nice. Met somebody else with that name a few towns over." He hadn't, but the boy, 'Pranks', didn't need to know that. "My name's 'Not-Telling'." And with that parting remark, Jack stepped out of the inn, smirking at the shocked look on Pranks' face.

Don't fight fire with fire, people said, but Jack knew to fight pranks with pranks.

…

The last day of travel to Grusiri was uneventful, but the nagging feeling began following him only an hour after leaving the town he'd stayed in. Jack often darted behind trees and waited for the sound of footsteps, wanting to confront this being, but there never were any. After doing it a few times, it occurred to Jack it meant that whatever was following him was close enough to see him. He felt better once he was out of the forests, and traveling a path through open, snowy fields. He tried to catch a glimpse of his pursuer, but even then he saw no one.

Once, he had spun around suddenly, demanding anyone who might be listening to show themselves. There had been an answering gust of wind, but no people. Jack hated the implications of that. Either whatever was following him wasn't human, or it was a person with bad intentions. Jack traveled more carefully after that realization.

He made good time getting to Grusiri, a few hours before nightfall. This was partly because he did the majority of his trip the day before, and also because an older farmer with a horse-drawn cart full of goods had offered him a ride. Talking with the kind man had helped to ease his worries, but they had returned the second he and the farmer parted ways, for he could feel the eyes at his back once more.

Jack plunged into the city (larger than any he had ever seen) with the intent of losing those who were following him.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for how odd the ending is, I'm a bit sick at the moment so it seems off. Oh well. Also I apologize for the longer wait, but today seemed a good day to update. In my family we sometimes give gifts on our birthdays to show how much we appreciate the people around us for being there, so this is my gift to you all.**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : Kidnap him? I have noooo idea what you're talking about.**

 ** _thisiscorinth_ : Well here's another one!**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : Thanks!**

 ** _ROTGFANGIRL_ : WELL I'VE WRITTEN MORE. You okay over there?**

 ** _Mikalya elwood_ : Actually yes! I check your page every now and then to see if it's up. Hmm... well we've established I'm pretty evil, so no spoilers! ;)**

 ** _Aekidna_ : It's not stupid at all to not read something based on bad feelings tied in with the title, and thanks for clicking on this story anyway.**

 **I really want to thank everyone who's favorited, followed, or reviewed for your support. It really means a lot to me.**

 **Until next time!**


	16. Chapter 16: Still haven't Lost Them

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Grusiri was _big_.

Bigger than Burgess, anyway. Big enough that the city itself was divided into a few smaller sections, as though to help keep people from getting lost. Jack had seen at least three inns, two taverns, and a fancy place that called itself a 'motel' so far.

The sun was setting by the time he reached the section he wanted to be in, and he sighed, realizing he would probably have to find someone who could refill his bottle the next day. As he walked the streets, he sipped from his flask and realized with dread there was only enough left for one more day. He located the nearest place that offered lodgings, a small inn near the center of the city (where all the sections seemed to meet in a spiral) that boasted 'magically cleaned rooms'. It seemed silly to Jack that that was something to advertise, especially in a city where magic was encouraged as much as it was in Grusiri. Apparently many people agreed with him on that point, for the rooms were cheap, though not quite as cheap as the April Inn had been.

In the small room he'd rented, Jack curiously held the bottle he'd bought from the shop owner in the last city he'd stayed in up to the small lamp in the room, wondering if that was acceptable as sunlight. He didn't expect much, after all the bottle promised _rainbows_ of all things ( _ridiculous_ , Jack thought), but the light above the bottle turned a multitude of colors that twisted into a rainbow from the bottle. Gasping, Jack caped the bottle quickly. That was magic for sure, which meant he could trade it to a cauldron witch in exchange for the syrupy liquid he needed to conceal himself. He laughed in delight; now he wouldn't have to attempt to perform any magic himself!

Stuffing the bottle back into his bag and leaving the bag in his room, he took the small pouch of money and locked the room and exited the inn (noting that it was called 'The Rest' so he didn't try the wrong inn later). He wandered the city, for though it was dark it was still alive; people calmly entering buildings and walking the brightly lit streets. There was a small stand he discovered that was selling exotic fruits, such as pineapple and kiwi, none of which you could get in Burgess. They also sold chunks of the fruits on a stick, which Jack happily bought for dinner (though he ended up purchasing a small amount of chicken later, because as good as the fruits had been they weren't quite filling enough).

He was checking out an academy that proclaimed to teach alchemy and potions when he heard something that made his blood run cold.

"Naw, we can't have lost him! 'E's around here somewhere, we just have ta find out where e's staying."

 _They can't have followed me_ , Jack thought in panic. _Getting away from them was the point of this trip in the first place!_ He bolted back to The Rest as quickly as he could, dodging the remaining people on the streets. He locked the door to his room behind him, hoping that the group hadn't caught sight of him.

Jack sat on the bed, taking in deep, calming breaths. _They were the presence following me this whole time_ , he realised furiously. He had two choices, try to keep them in his sight always and keep tabs on them, or do his best to avoid them. Getting ready to sleep, he decide the latter option was probably the safest bet.

As he pulled the sheets and blankets over himself he had a comforting thought: _Mrs. Overland and Emma are safe from my troubles._

* * *

"Where did he go?" North asked suddenly, looking around the street they were on.

The four of them had done their best to track down Jack, but it wasn't until the boy had stopped for lunch that they caught up to him. They had shadowed him all the way to Grusiri, though Bunny had pulled them all back and Sandy had shushed them several times. They had been _sure_ Jack didn't know he was being followed, but then he'd shouted for them to come out.

Okay, so they hadn't been as subtle as planned. But they were certain Jack didn't know _who_ was following him. In the bustle of the city, Tooth had proven the best at keeping an eye on him, though she'd gotten distracted several times. When they ended up in the section of the city that was more on the magic side, Bunny couldn't help but wonder why the kid had come here, since he'd seemed to despise most traces of magic the day before.

Tooth was currently side-tracked looking at jewelry, but looked up when she heard North's question. "You lost him again?"

"Naw, we can't have lost him! 'E's around here somewhere, we just have ta find out where e's staying."

Sandy nodded and signed something with his hands quickly.

"We _could_ simply wait until morning, but! we do not know why Jack is here, and it would be very hard to find him then." North said, stroking his beard.

"Oh!" Tooth spoke excitedly. "I think I see him!" She pointed at a figure slipping through the remaining people on the streets. "Come on!" she zipped after the figure, the others following seconds later.

Bunny almost ran into her when she stopped suddenly, looking all around. "Did ya see where he went?"

Her shoulders slumped. "No," she sighed. "He just sort of- vanished!"

Sandy tugged on North's pants. When he had North's attention, he signed a suggestion.

"Yeah," Bunny agreed. "Might as well find a place to sleep for the night, we'll have better luck when we're re-energised."

North looked around the small plaza they found themselves in. "Have two options, stay at little place there," he pointed to an inn with a sign that said it was 'The Rest', "Or we could find something somewhere else."

Sandy gestured to the nearby inn.

North looked at the others, and when they didn't protest he shrugged. "The Rest it is," he said, already walking towards it.

* * *

Jack wondered why he felt dread knotted in his stomach when he woke up. He quickly reviewed the previous night. He was in Grusiri, he was going to get his bottle refilled, and he was nowhere near those snooping travellers- Wait. He shot up in bed. They were here, in this city! Looking for him!

Jack spent the next five minutes panicking, and three after that trying to calm his heartbeat and slow his breathing. When he felt he was in a better state of mind, Jack began to plan how he would avoid the foreigners. They probably didn't know where exactly he was staying, so they wouldn't be staying here. Good.

He hopped out of bed and changed into his other pair of clothes (which he'd dipped in water and hung up the night before. Not exactly washing them, but it was better than nothing), while glancing out the small window. The Rest was small in ground space but went up five levels, which was the tallest height Jack had ever seen a building reach but it was apparently very common in Grusiri. Jack was on the top floor, which gave him the best possible view of his surroundings without _too_ many buildings blocking the window.

 _Alright,_ Jack thought. _If I leave here and_ _walk towards the stone building with pillars in front, then turn…_ he held up his forefinger and thumb on both hands for a second, _…left, I'll be able get to the small wooden structure, which supposedly houses a cauldron witch who sells potions to anyone._ Jack straightened the room (as though it needed straightening. The only things out of place was his staff, which was leaning in the corner of the room, and that darn book he'd been trying to decipher) and grabbed his bag, double-checking that it contained both the bottle he needed to refill and the rainbow bottle to trade away. He took a deep breath, then realised he would have to buy something for breakfast. Deciding to get something on the way, he added the money pouch to the bag, opened the door, locked said door, and ran down the several flights of stairs to get to the ground level, where he could exit onto the streets. Just as he was opening the door, there was an exclamation in a _voice_ he _recognized_.

"That's him!"

Turning around, he caught a glimpse of four pairs of eyes through the closing door. Surprised blue ones, irritated green ones, and wide violet ones. There were also kindly brown ones, but those eyes were _knowing_ and Jack was almost certain their owner could read his mind.

The door swung shut.

Jack shot off through the sleepy morning streets, cloak flapping wildly behind him.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, it feels like forever since I've posted, even though it hasn't even been two weeks (well, not quite). Classes have been slowly absorbing the majority of my attention, and though they're mostly fascinating (World religions, Chemistry, American history, and Music are some of my favorites!), they also make it very hard to do anything with my inspiration, since I often get it in the middle of class and not when I actually have time to write. But enough of my complaints, reviews!**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : Yeah the war is pretty darn important, might want to keep it in mind. And thank you so much! :D**

 ** _One Wing In The Fire_ : Well here it is!**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : Yeah, it's things like that that make education so important, one can't properly form an opinion without having allllll the facts, which Jack clearly doesn't have. **

**_The purple hippocampus_ : Haha, thanks! I appreciate that!**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : Keep it down, would you? Jack doesn't know yet ;)**

 ** _Aekidna_ : Oh, thank you!**

 ** _Serami Nefera_ : Don't worry, that's all it is... for now. Gosh darn it Pitch, you're just showing up everywhere.**

 ** _I'm the lonely life_ : No, I don't think Pranks will be making a return, but can you guess what he represents? (Hint: Pranks lives in the April Inn) And yeah! Finally, some concrete evidence of Pitch!**

 ** _Guest/Mikalya Elwood_ : I've read the first three chapters (I'm rubbish at commenting, so I probably won't review often) of yours, and Solitude and Darkness is on my to-read list!**

 ** _acrisafu_ : Glad that the confusion was straightened out! And thank you!**

 **Okay, honestly you all are so amazing, bless your very souls for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter and longer wait, I'll hopefully have time to actually work on this story more often.**

 **Until next time!**


	17. Chapter 17: A Blind Cauldron Witch

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Jack ran through the streets, darting around people and making a beeline to the large stone building he'd seen from his window. Only when he was almost there did he slow down, for people had begun to fill the cobblestone streets in earnest and he was receiving odd looks. Spying a food stand off to the side, Jack bought a lemon poppy seed muffin to eat (and though he hadn't known poppy seeds were sometimes edible, the seeds were very delicious when they were).

He held up his fingers again in front of the building with pillars, and, figuring out which way had been left from his window, he turned that way. Sometimes he would duck into small side streets just in case he was being pursued.

He made it to the wooden building he'd seen the night before (though not without glancing over his shoulder an unhealthily often), and realised it was styled oddly, with a curved sort of roof and a solid stone door (and wasn't that a bit backwards? Wooden building, stone door. Strange.) that, instead of having a handle to the side, had a knob directly in the middle. Jack tugged on the knob, and the door opened.

The inside was dark, with only a few oil lamps burning. There were shelves crowded with dusty bottles of several shapes and sizes, a number large cauldrons and pots in one corner, along with a counter that probably hadn't been dusted in years. The room felt small and cluttered, and there was a tangy scent that permeated the air. Jack hesitantly took a few steps into the stuffy air, a sharp contrast to the city's cold winter air, and the door swung shut as if of its own accord. Eyes wide, he called out a "Hello?" which echoed throughout the room. A hollow clunking sound came from a previously unnoticed and dark doorway, and he automatically backed away from it.

 _Thump, thump, thump… thump… thump…_

Jack was ready to make a run for it, when an older woman waddled out from the doorway, her gnarled cane producing the thumping sounds. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"Who's there?" she snapped, her voice high and waspish. Jack supposed she might have been pretty when she was younger, hints of blonde in her faded gray hair, which was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a faded crimson dress that looked dull brown in the dim lighting and was buckled at the waist. She was hunched over, and he suspected the only thing that kept her from falling over was the walking stick, twisted with designs to imitate a tree branch, though it was made of a dull gray metal.

"Hello ma'am," Jack said, opting to be polite. "My name is Jack; I was wondering if you could refill a bottle that once contained a concoction? I was told most-"

"I can make anytheeng." The woman said, pushing past him and nearly slamming her cane on his foot. He noticed she pronounced her short _i_ 's as long _e_ 's. "Geeve me the bottle," she held out her wrinkled hand, and Jack swiftly pulled the carved wooden bottle from his bag and placed it in her wrinkled hands.

She ran her hands over it, brought it close to her face, uncorked the bottle and sniffed the contents, recorked the bottle, then nodded in a satisfied way and looked at him. "I have no idea what thees ees."

"Oh, um, I have the name written down; I can give it to you." As he fumbled for the paper Mrs. Overland had given him he said, "So, what's your name?"

"Eenconnu, paper, _now_."

"Sorry Inconnu, here it is." He apologised and hastily gave her the paper. He wanted to ask where she was from, neither her accent nor her name sounded like it was from anywhere in Amadkio, but this old lady was actually sort of frightening and Jack did _not_ want her angry with him, especially as he felt he'd already pushed her a bit by asking her name.

She held the paper close to her face, and Jack wondered why she didn't turn on more lights if she was having that much trouble seeing things.

"Hmmm." She hummed, as though the paper was intriguing, though Jack knew there was only a single word on it. She handed the paper back to him, and said, "You weell have to read eet to me."

"Oh, sure. I need a refill of…" He squinted. "Praesidium?" It came out sounding like a question, and Jack had no idea if he was pronouncing it right.

"A-ha!" Inconnu turned and ran a hand over the shelves that lined the walls. "That does not even require me to meex anytheeng new." Her hand stopped at a bulbous glass bottle. She tapped it slowly and wiped her thumb over its dusty surface, revealing the muddy colored substance Jack was used to seeing. She pulled it from the shelf and uncapped it, then slowly poured it into the wooden bottle Jack had brought. She tilted her ear to the mouth of the bottle to hear when it was full rather than attempt to see it in the faint light. When she had recapped both bottles she turned and thumped her way back to him. She might have run into him, but he held out a hand and stopped her.

"The bottle ees refilled. The best payment ees another potion or a small charm." Her milky eyes blinked at him. "But, seence I deed not have to do anything, I weell accept coins as well."

Jack was ready for this, and already had the rainbow bottle in his hand. He placed it in Inconnu's hand and waited until her bony fingers wrapped around it before he spoke. "If you uncap the bottle it produces rainbows…" He trailed off when he saw her expression. Thin eyebrows were furrowed, and she pursed her lips.

"I'm blind, you eembecile! What use have I for rainbows?" Amidst Jack's apologies, Inconnu took the lid off the bottle. She took no notice of the faintly colored glow (and Jack supposed the weak light made sense now, she probably couldn't tell how bright it was) and instead used her hands to waft the scent of the bottles contents to her.

"Tais toi!" she snapped at Jack, who was still stuttering out an apology. He paused, uncertain of what she said, but he did know that she was less angry. "This weell do. I have not had anytheeng leprechaun made een years. Good-bye." She pushed the refilled bottle of Praesidium at him and used her cane to open the door. When she did not hear him leave, she shoved him outside with the butt of her walking stick. Jack nearly screamed, the cane had _burned_ , but the door had slammed shut and there were lots of people on the streets by now, so he managed to clamp his mouth shut.

As he walked back to The Rest, ready to gather his things and leave this city, he put the full bottle in his bag and muttered "Leprechaun made?"

* * *

"We had 'im right here!" Bunny barely remembered to keep his voice down so as not to make the other patrons of the inn suspicious.

"Calm down, Bunny. We'll find him again." Tooth soothed, although it was clear Bunny was anything but.

North nodded empathetically. "If we leave quickly we may even catch him before he leaves the city!" He stood up from the table where the four of them had been eating a small meal, but Sandy stopped him. North looked at him in confusion. "You think we shouldn't leave?"

Sandy nodded, and smoothly signed _'He did not take all of his belongings with him. All we have to do is wait.'_

"Sandy, you think he'll come back here before leaving city?"

Tooth gasped. "So all we have to do is sit here and keep and an eye on the door!" When Sandy smiled at her and nodded, she beamed and immediately turned to the door.

"Wait, what's the plan for when 'e does come back? If 'e sees us he won't come in, in fact 'e might just leave the city without taking anything 'e left behind!"

North laughed at Bunny. "Is simple! One of us waits inside Inn, one of us watches from outside, and the other two stay inside the room. People inside room have all of our belongings and are ready to go. Person inside Inn goes to get them when Jack comes back and person outside follows him out of city! Other three catch up to them and we confront Jack!"

"That's…" Bunny's eyebrows rose in surprise at North's statement. "…actually a good idea." His scowl returned to his face, though, as a thought occurred to him. He crossed his tanned arms as he said, "Alright, then how d'ya plan to confront the kid without 'im runnin' off again?"

North shrugged as though the answer was obvious. "Put boy in sack, go home, talk to him there."

A smirk crept across Bunny's face, but Tooth shrieked and covered her mouth at the stares of the lodge's other guests. "You can't do that!" she whispered furiously once she had gotten herself under control.

North looked vaguely puzzled. "Why not? Santoff Claussen is very secure, no chance of him running off before we talk to him."

Sandy steepled his hand in front of his face and blew a steady stream of air out of his mouth in exasperation.

"Because that's wrong! Taking him back to Santoff Claussen is fine, but we aren't going to put him in a sack!" Tooth fidgeted with one of her gold bangles anxiously. "Promise me you won't kidnap him, we can come up with another plan."

North sighed. "Fine, I will not put Jack in sack."

The only female of the group nodded briskly. "Good," she said, not noticing that North was the only one who promised not to try and kidnap Jack in a bag. "Who wants to watch the outside of the inn?"

Sandy raised his hand and shook it like an over-eager student. The golden haired man gestured to Bunny and North, then pointed to the hallway that led to the rooms they had stayed in.

Bunny looked vexed. "Hang on mate, ya want me 'n 'im to wait upstairs?!"

"Well, both of you stick out in a crowd, so…"

"We all stick out anywhere!"

"Sandy and I stick out less!"

"Not here, too colorful. You and Bunny wait upstairs, I keep watch."

"I can get both of you faster! Even if he notices me-"

"Which 'e will."

"-I can tell you to leave the quickest!"

"If it's speed that's important then I should stay! I'm faster 'n all of ya!"

As North, Tooth, and Bunny continued to argue over who should stay inside and watch for Jack, Sandy sighed. His features clearly conveyed his irritation at always having to break up arguments over this and that. He inhaled, and then _slammed_ his hands down on the table, creating a surprisingly loud sound for someone of such small stature.

Tooth, Bunny, and North blinked at him in surprise, ceasing their squabbling. Sandy nodded, satisfied, and pointed to Tooth firmly. She beamed and settled in her chair, fiddling with her clothes to hide as much of the brights colosr she liked to wear as possible.

"Sandy…" North complained, but Sandy firmly gestured to the hallway. With a sigh of defeat, Bunny and North trooped back to their rooms to gather their things together.

"So, you watch from outside, and once I see Jack I go warn the others, then we all go after Jack and bring him back to Santoff Claussen?" Sandy was certain that Tooth knew the plan, she had an excellent memory, but he affirmed her question with a nod anyway.

"Ok," she breathed, and hunched over while fixing her brilliant eyes on the door. "All we have to do is wait."

Sandy patted her hand reassuringly and casually exited. Tooth was positive Jack would be tailed without him knowing it, unlike when they had followed him into the city. Sandy had mastered the art of subtlety.

* * *

Jack had circled the street that The Rest was on for roughly an hour before deciding that since he hadn't seen any of the foreigners, they were either never going to leave the lodge or they had already left and he was wasting time.

When he approached the inn, he did so cautiously, scanning the faces of everyone he passed without it seeming as though he were staring. His eyes slipped right past a dwarfish figure wearing yellow shaded robes, which made sense seeing as said figure was concealed behind a large tome in the window of a small bookshop.

He slunk into the inn as quietly as he could; glancing around to be sure he wasn't being watched. Content with the supposed lack of attention being paid to him, Jack darted up the five levels of stairs and shoved the items he had left in the room into his bag (which had only been a set of clothes, his staff, and the strange old book). Snatching up his staff from where it'd been resting in the corner, he forced himself into a walking pace, mindful that he definitely did _not_ want to be noticed.

Strolling back into the harsh winter sunlight, Jack departed Grusiri, but turned into the woods immediately, rather than the well-traveled road that would lead him back to Burgess. _This time_ , he thought, _I'll manage to escape them._

* * *

 **A/N: Longer chapter, shorter update time! Fair warning however, the next few chapters are likely to be shorter than this one. Also, a question (for those of you that read this part of the A/N anyways): I'm planning on participating in RotG week (November 14th -21st). Is anyone interested in reading the fics that I manage to write for the week here on ffn? Also, if you haven't seen the prompts and are interested in participating pm me and I'll send you the link to the post with all the prompts.**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Thank you! I'm really trying to step it up in terms of imagery. You thought the anticipation was killing you before? You don't know the half of what I've got planned... or maybe you do, I don't know.**

 ** _One Wing In The Fire_ : Yes. They're coming for him, right there, right beHIND HIM LOOK OUT.**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : Actually, no chasing is happening... yet. And, come on, Jack is always chill, right? Haha get it? Because... I'll stop trying to make jokes now.**

 ** _Yellowmiki98_ : Hey, you changed your username! It's nice! I guess it depends on your taste in stories, but some of my favorites are Running for Life (sapphire316), Tales of Yore: Book 1 (iamconstantine, unfinished), Soul Perception (I.F.T.S., unfinished), the Big Four Hogwarts series (Floranagirl, series unfinished, I have no idea what she's calling it as a series), and... well I've got more, but I've already taken up a lot of space so that's it for now.**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : Alright, you guessed it! There may or may not be some sack kidnapping happening.**

 ** _Serami Nefera_ : Sandy and Jack are probably pranking bros. _(Headcannon: Sandy is the sassy gay friend you can't tell me otherwise)_ And hey yeah, that makes sense!**

 ** _PerfectionJune_ : Thank you! And yeah, you got it! Pranks is my representation of April Fools!**

 ** _mason32_ : Okay, so I'm not really familiar with Norse mythology, which is where Frost Giants are from, I think? I don't know much about them, and they aren't included in this au. I've kind of used creatures from various mythologies and works of fiction and basically ignored most things canonically stated about them and made up a lot of stuff. I'm using the term 'fey' loosely, to encompass a lot of creature that share some common attributes (in this au anyway). Tooth is a fairy (and if we're being specific, a Sister of Flight), one of the types of fey. Jack is not, so I'm kind of hoping it doesn't take away from her uniqueness. Sorry to disappoint.**

 **Anyway, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited. Hoping to get some input about posting RotG week 2017 stuff, and tell me if you plan to post any! I want to read it!**

 **Until next time!**


	18. Chapter 18: Sandy Sneakily Stalks

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Jack had been feeling chills sneak up his spine for almost an hour, and it was starting to worry him. Well, a lot of things were worrying him. That nice (though a bit crude) shop owner had been a leprechaun? Had the bottle been cursed? Leprechauns were said to do things like that…

A shiver raced up his back and crackled through his limbs for a moment like lightning, making him stumble on the dirt path.

Then there was the fact that _they_ had been in Grusiri. Looking for him, obviously. If they knew he was going back to Burgess, maybe he should take a detour. He winced internally; that would mean leaving Emma alone for a longer period of time than he had promised. But he had heard stories of what fey hunters did. Almost as vicious and cruel as fey themselves, burning anywhere the fey had frequented to 'purify' the area. Even though none of the travelers, not even Aster, had seemed like the sort to do something like that, there was no way he would allow anything like that to happen to Mrs. Overland, who had taken him in when he was little, or Emma, who he loved dearly ( _if they really were fey hunters_ , his mind whispered, _they would have killed you already. Those sorts of people don't need much proof._ He tried to quiet his mind, but the voice persisted. _They would go back to Burgess anyway, and probably burn the whole town to rid it of your taint, and it'd be all your fau-_ Jack did not particularly like his head at the moment).

So lost in thought was Jack that he didn't notice when the fingers on his right hand, the one holding his shepherds staff, twitched.

But where to go? If he wasn't going back to Burgess, not right away anyway, then where should he go? Where _could_ he go? It wasn't as though he had any -Jack snorted- family, and Mrs. Overland had only given him so much money for the journey. He might be able to stay mostly in the woods, and occasionally stay in small towns, where the prices would be cheapest. But he would run out of money eventually, and then what?

Jack was pulled from his musings when his whole right arm spasmed, an odd pressure building in his fingers. He frowned, a thought was just out of reach, trying to remind him of something important-

He dropped the staff when frost raced up and down its length from his fingertips. Inhaling sharply, the thought came to the front of his mind and he abruptly remembered _he hadn't taken any of the praesidium solution since yesterday_. Jack dropped quickly to the ground and practically ripped the bag of his back and rummaged through it, finding his empty flask and the full wooden bottle. He shook the flask in frustration; there was no water in it! He looked around frantically, wasn't this the part where there's miraculously a river nearby or something?

More frost leaked from his fingers and onto the dirt path.

Jack strained his ears for the sound of rushing water –anything! - but there was nothing. Swallowing thickly, he unscrewed the cap of the praesidium and poured only two drops into the flask. He'd have to find a water source later, but he had to fix this (if 'this' was what he thought it was) now. He caught a drop of praesidium on a finger of his left hand, hoping desperately that it wouldn't freeze. It didn't, thank heavens, and he placed it on his tongue. Even though it was only a drop, it burned going down.

Satisfied that he was safe (for now), he put both praesidium and flask back into the bag, then hoisted the bag on his back. He picked up his staff and examined it. The frost was melting away, though the wood was absorbing the water left behind. Jack's brow creased, but then he shrugged. Probably not important.

As he began walking again, he looked curiously at his fingers. The pressure hadn't been removed when he'd drank the praesidium, but it had at least ceased building up, and the chills had stopped accosting his body, for now anyway.

Now, where should he try to hide from those pesky foreigners that were chasing him?

* * *

Sandy frowned when he saw Jack drop to the ground, shaking violently, and pull something out of his bag. The shaking had stopped shortly after, and Sandy wondered what the boy had done.

He hoped Jack would keep up his steady pace. Sandy would never admit it, not aloud at least (as if!), but he liked traveling on his own. Well, that was a lie. He liked shadowing someone on his own, as the others could be a bit… Much? Bright? Not stealthy at all? All of those applied, Sandy thought with a firm nod. It appeared Jack didn't even realize he was being followed, and okay, Sandy was cheating a bit, he wasn't exactly shadowing Jack in a normal way.

Sandy's snapped out of his thoughts as Jack stood, putting a… wooden bottle? into his bag. The brunet began walking again, shepherds staff slung over his shoulder. Sandy stealthily followed, a feat that was hard to achieve, considering that the well-traveled dirt path was surrounded by approximately no cover; no thick tree trunks, bushes, rocks, tall grass, or even large snow piles to hide behind.

Sandy followed from the air.

The fluffy clouds that were heavy with snow created the perfect cover, and he could settle on his own golden cloud of sand, ducking through the cloud cover every now and then. Sandy was sure that at some point Jack would look up and notice the golden glow coming from the clouds, or catch sight of him peering out. The boy did have a habit of checking every direction, even up (especially up, which was strange. It was almost like he automatically expected people to be in the air, Sandy mused), when he thought he was being stalked.

The next time Sandy poked his head out of the clouds, Jack wasn't there. Jack was going back to Burgess… right? Sandy risked coming completely down from the clouds, risky not only if Jack saw, but also if any other person who might be walking the path noticed.

There he was, in the distance! But why had Jack turned away from the path that would take him back to Burgess? Perhaps he was going to visit relatives. After all, none of them knew the reason Jack had gone to Grusiri in the first place. Sandy caught up to Jack quickly, though the brunet didn't know that.

A small, jewel-bright bird fluttered around Sandy, who'd concealed himself in the clouds once more. The bird was pretty, in shades of turquoise and green, chirping madly… wait. That wasn't a bird! Sandy offered his hand for the small creature to rest, recognizing it as one of Tooth's fairies. It squeaked a thanks (probably. Sandy had no idea what any of the fairies said ever) and sat on his hand for a minute before zipping off again. Sandy frowned; there was seemingly no reason for Tooth to send a fairy, unless it was to-

Of course! The others were close, and he would have to join them on the ground so they wouldn't completely blow their stalk-Jack-and-convince-him-to-come-to-Santoff-Claussen-without-using-a-sack plan. Sandy huffed in irritation and, checking to be sure that nobody would see, floated down to the dirt path and dissolved his sand cloud.

The only consolation was that Jack was coming upon some woods, so there was some hope that they wouldn't be discovered.

* * *

 **A/N: So it's really short but it's been ages since I've updated and you guys kind of deserve something. Feedback on this chapter would be appreciated; I'm not overly fond of it. In other news, there are now chapter titles (that are terrible because titles are hard)!**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : Looking forwards to seeing what you do, and thanks!**

 ** _One Wing In The Fire_ : they were *this* close...**

 ** _Melancholy's Sunshine_ : *laughs nervously and pulls sack out of Aster's reach* Haha what sack? *sweats***

 ** _I'm the lonely life_ : Hey thanks! And whats your hunch? Well if you're a sadist for enjoying it, what does that make me for writing it?**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : There'll be a chase scene as soon as I figure out how to write one... Shh, Jack's not allowed to watch spy movies until _after_ the Guardians have caught him.**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : Thanks, and... maybe? I don't really watch a lot of movies (I say and hope no one notices my main fandom is a movie).**

 ** _Serami Nefera_ : Trust me on this, Katherine will definitely show up at some point, and Ombric as well. I'll be honest, I really haven't decided if Jack and Nightlight should be the same person, but as of now I'm leaning towards them being separate. Sandy is sneaky, but he's also a _cheater_ ;)**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : They probably won't be on good terms for a while, but here's a new chapter!**

 ** _Yellowmiki98_ : Schedules are terrible, aren't they?**

 ** _Blah_ : You'll have to wait and see!**

 **So for some reason there's like 100 people following this and like 100 reviews? Wow, didn't think that would happen! Thank you _so_ much for reviewing, following, and favoriting. I can not express how much that means to me, especially the reviews that give constructive criticism. **

**Until next time!**


	19. Chapter 19: Memories of a Time Passed

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Abigail Overland remembered what it had been like before the War.

There had still been hateful stories of magic and magical creatures, but for the most part, they had been just that: stories. They had been only loosely based on real events, events that weren't as common as the stories made them appear. Friendship between species hadn't been unusual; sometimes the species even fell in love with one from another.

One of her best friends had been fey, and it was accepted. Her friend hadn't been thought of as a soulless monster that needed to be killed for the safety of the town. The female fey had been able to visit openly, without using a glamour and without fear that someone would try to harm her.

Abigail remembered meeting her friend, remembered stitching symbols on cloth to send instead of writing on paper, remembered learning how to understand simple fey words (but never able to speak it, her mouth hadn't been able to produce the sounds of the fey language), remembered learning some of the fey's strange customs, such as the importance of Names.

Her friend had never introduced herself, not until much later, not until the fey woman had stood dripping in the doorway, clutching a small bundle, certain that both she and her child would be killed. Instead, Abigail had learned that fey had two names, one they were given by their parents, a fey name that wasn't to be shared with a non-fey, and a human name that the fey could pick, or, if they trusted someone enough, let someone else pick it. Abigail had picked the name Caroline. She wasn't sure when the name had stuck, just that after a few months of playing with the young fey, she had begun using the name whenever she spoke to her friend, and 'Caroline' had responded.

Despite their friendship and the friendship between other humans and magical beings, a rift appeared. It seemed to happen very suddenly, one week it was perfectly fine to go anywhere with Caroline, and the next Abigail was warned away from her best friend by people who were paranoid that Caroline would attack Abigail.

The War had officially begun just after Abigail had married into the Overland family. Abigail had, of course, still visited Caroline even as the rift grew, but immediately after the war started, she, like most women, were told to not to stray from their towns, preferably not to stray from their homes either. Men were told to leave only if they meant to join the Amadkian soldiers in fighting all manner of magic. Burgess was not one of the towns that still saw women as 'inferior' (they prided themselves on being a progressive town with good morals, thanks you very much), but even there the rule was that women would stay in the houses, and keep their children with them. Fear of magic had cloaked everyone, to the point of unhealthy paranoia.

Abigail wasn't sure how the War started (nobody was, the monarchs of Amadkio had never clearly stated why, they simply danced around the topic); only that it was suspiciously short, with a large amount of casualties. Two years of battle erupting all over the kingdom would have been normal, except it was the whole magical community humans were fighting against. It should've lasted longer. Humans shouldn't have been able to win that easily. Reports came in; it hadn't just been in Amadkio that centaurs, giants, pookas, leprechauns, and all manner of fey had viciously attacked the humans, it had been all over the world, in several kingdoms, empires, and the few 'democracies' ("Yeah right," people laughed, "there's _no way_ democracy will last") that existed.

But very few people had thought it suspicious. The War seemed to have given most a sense of superiority, and the rest were simply relieved it was over. They never bothered to wonder why. Why had the War of Magic been so short? Why had it started in the first place? _Why did fear suddenly sweep the nations?_

A few months after the War had started, there had been a knock on the Overland's small house's door. The new Mrs. Overland had answered; it had been late and her husband was asleep. She had been unable to sleep; the downpour outside keeping her awake. Before she had reached the door, the knock had sounded again, more timid than the first knock but just as frantic.

The sight Abigail Overland had been met with when she opened the door was a surprise, and she hurried the wet and shivering figure inside quickly before they could be spotted. She sat her old friend down and offered a blanket, but Caroline, though she had changed, her eyes afraid and her glamour flickering, declined the warmth.

The glamour collapsed completely as her friend began speaking, revealing a young, almost-human looking woman with black hair much longer than Abigail's and a chubby face, coppery skin pale with fright. She spoke with a note of urgency in her voice, and her soft brown eyes had often darted to the pile of blankets she held.

The beginning of the War had been much harder on those who possessed magic, or those who weren't human, than on those who were, by human standards, 'normal'. The attacks had been quick, Caroline had said, and no one had been prepared. Most of the magic creatures were going into hiding, except those who were preparing a force to fight back with, just as afraid of humans as humans were of them. Caroline had been lucky to escape with both her and her small son's life, though her spouse had not been so lucky.

Abigail had looked at the bundle of blankets in realization then, and Caroline had asked a question of her, pleading with her childhood friend to care for her son and protect him, regardless of his species. Abigail, slightly stunned, had scoffed; what sort of person did Caroline think she was? Obviously she would raise her best friend's child if Caroline thought he had a better chance with Abigail than with her.

Caroline had broken then, clutching at Abigail with one arm, the other still wrapped around her child. She'd whispered her fey name to Abigail, the one that wasn't supposed to be revealed to a non-fey. Abigail had held her until Caroline- _Tawni_ \- had fallen asleep in the chair, and then she carefully escaped her friend's grasp to make some tea.

When Caroline had woken up an hour or so before the sun was to rise, Abigail was once again by her side offering her two things, the first was a cup of tea, and the second offer was one of protection for both her and her son. Caroline had almost broken down again (in any other circumstance this would not have been a big deal, in fact Caroline had frequently stayed at Abigail's house when they were younger and vice-versa, but this was during a vicious war that really boiled down to humans versus everyone else), but declined the second offer the way she had declined the blanket a few hours previous. Caroline was almost certain she was being tracked, and didn't want to bring that to Abigail's home. Her son was safe from trackers, for though he was fey, he hadn't developed magic yet.

The next hour was spent quietly drinking tea, the two sitting women in a companionable silence. Caroline had peeled back some of the blankets surrounding her son, revealing a face just as chubby as Caroline's, but his skin was extraordinarily pale instead of the warm copper of his mother's, and the small amount of hair he had was stark white. He'd been bundled up again quickly, but Abigail had seen the melancholic expression on her friend's face.

Before Caroline had departed from Burgess, she'd given two instructions to Abigail, and made a request. She'd said to find a certain potion that would aid in guarding the young fey child (she gave Abigail both the name of the potion and a few magic items to trade for the potion). It would hide his unusual appearance until he could learn how to glamour himself, and it would contain his magic when it developed. Caroline had also said to Name her son the way Abigail had Named her. As long as he accepted it (and he would, he was too small to reject anything) it would ensure a familial bond between the little fey and Abigail. Caroline gave a small book to Abigail, whispering that she and her spouse had written things that they thought their son ought to know, fey culture, cultures of non-humans in general, and the basics of magic. Caroline asked if Abigail would give it to her son. Abigail had shushed her; there was no reason for her not to.

The two women had embraced, both struggling to stay strong for the other. It was almost certain Caroline would be found, so, for likely the last time, Caroline kissed her child gently and grasped the hand of her best friend firmly. She left Burgess with a renewed glamour and a bagful of food.

Caroline Tawni was captured halfway across the kingdom, tortured, and then killed four months later.

Yes, Abigail Overland remembered what it was like before the War of Magic, during it, and its result. She desperately hoped her son- Caroline's son- would come to a kinder fate, even if he was almost terrified of himself and his kind.

* * *

 **A/N: Alternatively titled "Sweet Fluffy Friendship, Wait, Now There's War". It's that time of year again, you know, where everyone's just trying to hang on until Christmas break. As much as I love this time of year temperature-wise, it's also a pain, so many projects due very quickly.**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : If that isn't true than I don't know what is.**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : Nope, he'll probably be more like 'get away, let's not talk'. **

**_Melancholy's Sunshine_ : Perhaps you'll have to wait more ;)**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : Sandy is the Master Stalker. If he were stalking you, you wouldn't know until someone else ruined it. Emma is always amazing (and also one of my top three favorite characters, I love her so much!)**

 ** _toshirolovehim_ : While I've never actually said, Pitch will definitely show up. Like a lot.**

 ** _mason32_ : Oh my goodness, thank you! I'll get right to working on my time management and procrastination problems... tomorrow. :P**

 ** _KorrieChan_ : That remains to be seen... hopefully within the next few chapters. **

**_Fun Filled Frost_ : Hey, nice name change! Would you believe I tried to name all the chapters for the sole purpose of using that alliteration? **

**Once again, thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and/or reviewed! There probably won't be an update for a while, but as soon as break comes up I'll have the time and (hopefully) inspiration to write faster.**

 **Until next time!**


	20. Chapter 20: Jack Passed Out Again

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Jack had been wandering in a random direction for about an hour when the feeling of being _watched_ returned. Aware of who was watching him now he took off as fast as he could, shoes scuffing against the dirt road that was (sort of) clear of snow. He gripped his staff tighter, in case he didn't manage to get away and needed to defend himself.

And he was _so_ sure he'd lost them in Grusiri.

Realizing that staying on the path was counter-productive, since he could be easily tracked, he darted off into the trees that surrounded the path (He conveniently forgot the imprints his feet left in the snow- or rather, should leave...). When the eyes he felt at his back vanished, or at least lessened, he slowed long enough to swing himself onto the branch of a tree, knowing that most people rarely bothered to look up. He scrambled up a few branches more to better hide himself before moving from tree to tree using the branches. He was lucky most of his clothes- and his hair- were brown. In any other season the bleak color might stand out amongst bright leaves, but in winter, with the all the leaves fallen and buried under snow, it helped him blend in.

He moved as silently as possible, even if it slowed his progress. He avoided branches that were sturdy enough to hold his weight, but would have shook and rattled and made far too much noise. In the haze of panic and trying to get away from those eyes, from those people, he reached the edge of the forest. It wasn't where he'd come in, but that was okay. All he had to do was get _away_.

Just as he was about to swing himself down from the branches of a particularly large tree, he heard voices. Jack quickly perched atop one of the thickest branches and covered as much of himself as he could with his cloak, hoping to camouflage himself from _them_.

"…gotta stop losin' 'im."

"Sandy! What you mean, 'are too loud'?"

"He probably left the woods by now. Sandy and I could do a quick air scan; maybe see which way he went?"

"That'd be a fine idea sheila, but the emergency disguise went to Sandy, so unless ya both wanna have ta head back ta Santoff Claussen when you're done…"

'"I guess you're right…"

By this point, the voices had just passed under Jack, and he was certain he'd be able to duck back into the woods and maybe finally, _finally_ , lose the foreigners. He worriedly stored away the information he'd just heard. How would Sandy and Tiana do an air scan? What did they mean; Sandy used the 'emergency disguise'? Were they all from this Santoff Claussen place? Shaking the thoughts away (as soon as he got away he wouldn't have to deal with them, there was no need for such things to drag him down…hopefully), he shifted slightly on the branch, getting ready to creep back into the woods and make his getaway.

The branch knocked against a smaller branch, and a few twigs fell free.

"What was that?"

"Probably bird, is nothing."

"Sandy's right, there shouldn't be a bird 'round here this time of year."

Jack froze. He tried to even out his breathing, but he couldn't seem to get enough air _. Please keep moving, please keep moving…_

"I'll check it out!"

Hearing light footsteps followed by the branches movement signified Tiana was climbing up the tree. She might not reach the high branch where Jack was, but he didn't want to take that chance.

Jack straightened abruptly from his crouched position, and, ignoring the surprised sounds from beneath the branches, he swung himself to a lower branch, resuming his earlier pattern of hopping between trees. He was going faster than before, not checking to see if the branches would hold his weight, but he could hear Aster, Sandy, Nick, and Tiana gaining on him. _Of course they're gaining_ , he scolded himself. _They know where you are and they aren't trying to stay in the trees!_

Taking a risky gamble, the teen grabbed one of the worn shoes off his foot in between boughs. His movement stuttered when he landed on the next branch, and he nearly toppled off. Regaining his balance, Jack turned around and blindly threw his shoe in the direction of the people currently crashing around the forest. The sound of someone yelling "Hey!", and then a pause urged him forwards, knowing he had only bought a few seconds.

Staying in the trees was actually easier now that he'd gotten rid of his shoe, even if the rough bark bit into his skin. Deciding that throwing his other shoe was a good idea, the brunet paused for a second to slip off his remaining shoe. Tossing that one at the group as well, he continued onward more confidently.

Suddenly, an object went whizzing past him. It took Jack a few moments to realize it was the same shoe he'd ditched a minute ago. _Time to take it up a notch_ , he thought.

Flipping the shepherd's staff so the hook faced up, he used it to pull himself to the higher branches, which were more unsteady but they made him less of a target. Jack went faster, not even looking at the branches he was leaping to, using his staff to catch himself whenever he stumbled. The teen slowly stopped listening for following footsteps. He'd never been this high up before, and it was amazing! Sure, he'd climbed trees before, but never this high, never darting between branches this fast. It was almost like he was flying, and it was absolutely exhilarating.

Wait.

Jack stopped suddenly on the branch he was currently on, his momentum almost carrying him off the tree. Maybe he should get down. A small voice at the back of his head urged him forward, this was a fun game, he should go higher, faster! He gripped his staff tighter and shoved the voice away, terrified of where it came from. He maneuvered himself down a few branches, deciding that it wasn't a good idea to stay up high if _that_ voice enjoyed it.

"There 'e is!"

Jack's other shoes came hurtling toward him, and he automatically ducked so that it flew over his head. However, to duck, Jack had to let go of one of the branches he was using for support, and his sudden downwards movement caused him to pitch forwards. Waving his staff wildly to try and get the crook to catch on something, Jack fell off the branch, cloak snagging on branches as he passed them.

With a groan, he smacked into a pile of snow at the bottom of the tree. He popped up quickly, but stumbled, a wave of dizziness coming over him. "I think I'd rather have been hit by the shoe," he mumbled, struggling to remain standing. He put a hand to his head and leaned against the trunk of the tree.

"Got ya!"

Heart racing at how close the voice sounded, Jack pushed himself off the tree and started running in the opposite direction. Instead of getting away, he ran into a bush, bare twigs scraping against his skin and pulling at his clothes. Pulling himself out of the bush, he did his best to shake off the dizziness and escape.

"I don't think so, mate."

It was Aster, his figure tall and imposing. Jack turned to try a different way, but Nick stepped out from between some trees, looking very pleased at having caught Jack at last. Stepping away from both of them, Jack nearly ran into Tiana, who had appeared behind him. Scrambling away from the three of them, the panicked teen fell over Sandy, who looked as though he'd been standing there the whole time.

Jack was trapped, the area too small for him to get away without one of them catching him first.

"We have found you!" Nick said jubilantly. "You are very tricky, always hiding in trees."

 _Not tricky enough, it seems_ , Jack though gloomily. _Unless…_

Jack turned to face Tiana. She wasn't as tall as Jack, and she was skinnier than her companions, so if he could slip past anyone it would be her.

"Watch out, To- Tiana. 'Es gonna rush ya." Aster shifted behind Jack, ready to jump forward and catch the teen if he tried anything.

Jack tensed up, and then bolted at Tiana. She spread her arms, doing her best to block his path. Aster hopped forwards and was about to catch the sneaky teen, when Jack abruptly changed directions, running at Sandy and pushing past the small man.

"After him!" Nick hollered, already charging forwards himself.

Jack sprinted, knowing it was useless, he had a stitch in his side already, and that fall hadn't done him any favors. He ran anyway, knowing he at least had to try. He would _not_ be captured by these people; he'd worked too hard to evade them to be caught _now_.

With those thoughts in mind, Jack managed to put on a burst of speed, weaving fluidly around trees. It seemed to have payed off, for he couldn't hear the sound of feet hitting the forest floor anymore, nor could he hear the crunch of snow. Jack slowed and came to a stop, gasping out a short, disbelieving laugh. He'd gotten away.

"I don't think so," A distinctly accented voice said menacingly.

As Jack whirled around, his vision was filled with the red color of poisonous berries, and he was encased in coarse red fabric. There was a chuckle, a sharp pain in his head, and the red faded into black as he lost consciousness.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, so it's almost been a month, huh? The only thing I've been able to use my computer for since I last updated was projects, I swear. But with winter break here, I hope I'll have the time and inspiration to write a lot (I did try to write once or twice, but I'm struggling with some serious writer's block). Righto, to the reviews!**

 ** _Melancholy's Sunshine_ : I'm glad it cleared things up!**

 ** _WinterCrystal1009_ : tbh I didn't expect to like Mrs. Overland as much as I do.**

 ** _IReviewThings_ : Pitch may or may not have a hand or two in causing the War.**

 ** _MagicWarriorDragon_ : I don't think it'll ever be directly answered, so I'll tell you his name is Frost. I had to figure out how to make things fit somehow :P**

 ** _Fun Filled Frost_ : Jack has such a good loyalty model.**

 ** _KorrieChan:_ I'm glad you liked it! Sorry for not managing to update sooner :/**

 ** _The purple hippocampus_ : Actually, the fate of Mr. Overland was briefly mentioned in chapter fifteen, but I'll recap since I don't plan on going back to it. He was driven mad (supposedly by fay) and ran off, assumed dead. I'm only just realizing how unpleasant that is.**

 ** _I'm the lonely life_ : Contrary to popular belief, I'm alive! No, Jack is definitely fey, and see the above response for Mr. Overland's fate. Yeah, Jack was conditioned to hate/be afraid of fey (by the community, not by Mrs. Overland).**

 ** _HikariCruz_ : I made his fey name Frost because... cause... why not?**

 ** _KitoH_ : Someone call for an update? Glad you've enjoyed the story!**

 **Quick question before I leave: does anyone mind if i start only replying to reviews that I feel need replying to (such as ones with questions)? I feel like I'm letting people down by having a long A/N when they expected more story.**

 **Anyways, thanks for sticking with this story even when I don't update or meet expectations, and thanks for the favorites, reviews, and follows!**

 **I hope you have a joyful Christmas, a lovely Kwanzaa, and had a cheerful Hanukkah!**

 **Until next time!**


	21. Chapter 21: Jack's awake! nevermind

**Disclaimer: DreamWorks owns RotG, not me**.

Bunny trudged through the snow, stopping on the mostly clear road where he'd agreed to meet the others should they split up. He grunted at the extra weight he'd stuffed in his pack. North may have enchanted the bags to hold extra objects without betraying their whole weight, but still. Bunny had just added one of his spare bags, a garishly red sack big enough to contain a small person (or a very skinny one, as it was) to his pack, and its contents weighed about as much as his pack did already.

North stomped up to Bunny, looking disappointed. "Did not find him. You?"

Bunny glanced to the side. If Tooth found out what he'd done to catch the little bugger before they reached Santoff Claussen there was no telling what she'd do. "I caught 'im," he whispered, after being _absolutely_ certain that Tooth wouldn't hear. Or Sandy, for that matter. At North's ecstatic look he clamped a hand over North's mouth. "Don't tell," he hissed. "We gotta get 'im back home first,"

North smiled. "That is easy," He said when Bunny took his hand away, not bothering to whisper. "Just have to wait for others," an exaggerated wink, "and see if they have found Jack!"

Sandy seemed to materialize behind North, though in reality he'd simply strolled up the path. He shook his head, squinting suspiciously at Bunny and North. A golden figure of a skinny teen with a hooked staff appeared above his outstretched hands, replaced by two eyes that were crossed out.

Tooth flit onto the path, words already pouring out of her mouth. "I haven't seen him either, Sandy. Darn! We were so close this time!" she took a quick breath in, then, slightly calmer, she said, "What now? Do we just… give up? Go back home?"

Exchanging a glance with Bunny, North nodded. "Have snow globe. Not necessarily give up, but…"

"Re-group. Now that we've lost 'im for the time being, it might be a good idea to come up with a better plan."

Tooth bobbed her head thoughtfully. "We could do with a bit of advice." Nodding again, though much more firmly, she said, "Alright!"

A large smile on his face, North open his bag, pulling out a round globe that was almost completely made of glass and contained a white grainy substance. Bringing the globe to his mouth, North whispered "Santoff Claussen," before throwing the snow globe on the path in front of them. It exploded in a spiral of color, a portal opening in the air. North was the first one to go through, Sandy stepping in immediately after. Tooth shot Bunny a _look_ , and he reluctantly hopped through, though not without several muttered complaints. Glancing around the snowy forest as though she would spot the elusive teen peering from behind the trees, she shrugged and walked through. The bright portal shut with a _snap,_ and the woods were quiet save for the whistling of the wind.

In fact, the forest soon became alarmingly silent, even the wind stilling as the area seemed to darken, shadows growing longer then they ought to be with the sun high in the sky, despite the clouds blocking it out.

A blackened hand reached for an abandoned stick. It was a strange stick, really more of a staff with its length, an angular hook at one end. It almost seemed to twitch before the hand took hold of it, as though trying to get away from the presence. The staff was examined carefully, the weight, size, and faint light that seeped from the cracks all taken note of.

"…Interesting."

* * *

It was very dark.

It was also very cramped. Jack did not like it. He did not like being beaten in this game of cat and mouse (in which he was the mouse), being captured, or shoved in this sack. But most of all, he hated that the horrible pressure in his fingertips had increased, and he was too squished to reach his pack and do anything about it.

He was curled up inside the sack, not that he could see it, but he could feel objects pressing against him, sharp edges poking into his legs and head and a few curved items that were wrapped around his elbows, which were awkwardly stuck at painful angles. He shifted once, attempting to pull his elbows in and maybe manage to reach his bag- and the praesidium. Instead, he found the sack he was stuck inside pitched forwards, as though off- balance, and Jack realized that he was being carried. _Duh_ , he thought to himself. _What exactly did I expect would happen if I were thrown in a sack? To be thrown into a river?_ Granted, considering some of Jack's recent nightmares, that wouldn't be too unexpected.

There were muffled voices, though Jack couldn't make out what they were saying or who they were (Gee, who could _possibly_ have kidnapped him?), and he was thrown backwards, as though the person carrying him had righted themselves. The teen found some of the pressure released from his fingers in his surprise, and he shivered. He was slowly rocked as the person carrying him began to walk, though he was rigid with alarm.

 _What happened?_ The feeling in his fingers returned rapidly, although this time the pressure almost itched, tickling his senses. Jack tried to shove down the panic that was bubbling up in his chest. He struggled frantically against the confines of the sack, desperate to reach his bag. The tickling spread down his fingers, infecting his hands as he found the top of the sack- where the opening should be, making it _very hard_ to pull the sack open.

Jack gritted his teeth; his palms _itched_ , as though he'd been clapping far too long, and shoved the top of the sack, jamming his fingers through the small opening he found (not that he could really feel his fingers anymore) and tugging at the edges. The opening widened a fraction, so Jack tugged harder, and something gave.

Well.

Several somethings.

One was the edges of the sack, drawstrings loosening and allowing it to open. Jack used the opportunity to pull his own bag off his back, untangling it from his cloak and reaching in for the praesidium, the cure, but-

Another something was a _different_ bag, one that Jack's sack had been inside. This one had a little light, and Jack could make out vague outlines of the objects that poked his sides. The whole bag had _lurched_ , and Jack remembered that he was being carried so-

The last something was the itching, it had flown from his hands and subsided at an alarming rate. Jack couldn't see what had happened, but the temperature had dropped and there was something rough on the inside of the sack and-

For a single moment, everything seemed to be still, and Jack uncorked the praesidium, taking a sip directly from the bottle, recorking it and pulling the bag closed, mouth burning body burning nerves on fire then-

Time leapt forward, the lurching continued and became one continuous motion, a _fall_ , and his already bruised head took another beating as he hit a hard surface, and he managed to send an exasperated thought at his luck before being drawn under once more.

* * *

"Bunny, are you okay?"

Bunny huffed from his new position on the forest floor just inside Santoff Claussen boundaries. "M' fine," he mumbled, starting to pull himself up. Darn kid, must have woken up and tried to throw Bunny off-balance. He accepted North's hand (not that he had a choice, the large man had more or less grabbed him) and steadied himself, adjusting to the different weight on his back.

"Are you sure? Because I know you don't like portals but you shouldn't have lost your balance like that! Oh! Maybe you've been running too much trying to find Jack! You should…"

North raised an eyebrow at Bunny, who was ignoring the still-twittering-away Tooth. Bunny nodded to the swordsman and began navigating his way to the village center. Once there, they could deal with the pest that was Jack Overland.

The other three followed suit, Tooth fretting over Bunny's health, North being unusually silent, and Sandy suspiciously eyeing Bunny's sack.

It took about fifteen minutes to reach the heart of Santoff Claussen, could have taken less if there wasn't all this _snow_ blanketing everything and making it hard to keep up the pace, not to mention the snow that was falling from the sky and obstructing their vision.

It would have been strange that there were no children around (Santoff Claussen children are very curious, after all), but it was almost dark out. The children were concealing themselves from something dreadful. An absolutely terrible thing that wished to take them away from their fun and games.

 _Bedtime_.

As such, all the children were hiding and their parents searching for them, so there was no one to question the group's early arrival home.

"We might be able to see Ombric now; I mean there's maybe an hour before it's too dark, right?" Tooth said, turning to the rest of the group.

Bunny was about to answer, but he felt a weight shifting in his bag once more. "Actually, I might crash soon; we can wait 'till morning." He looked pointedly at North.

North cleared his throat, exclaiming, "Of course, comrade! It would be wise to think with well-rested thoughts, no?"

Tooth sighed, obviously not wanting to wait but seeing the sensibility behind her friends' suggestion (that and she was worried about Bunny, he needs his rest after a tumble the likes of which he had taken earlier when coming out of the portal). "Alright,"

Sandy was already leaving, tossing a sleepy wave over his shoulder.

"Ah! Do not forget that you can let the enchantment fall off now, no need to be sneaky anymore!" North called after them, heading for his own home.

Bunny sighed in relief as he took his bag off his back (he should really think about inventing packs specially to carry on your back, the weight was distributed terribly when using these sacks). It was nice to be back underground. It was even nicer, he mused as bones shifted and grew, to be back in his own form.

After stretching, he began the tedious task of unloading his bag and putting things back in their proper space, grumbling to himself the whole time.

(He gave up halfway through and decided that _hey, that wasn't a bad area for those objects, he could just leave them there_.)

Everything back where it should be ( _mostly_ ), Bunny tried to decide what to do with the kid still tied up in a sack.

…It'd be fine if he hit him over the head a few times and left it to the others in the morning, right?

* * *

 **A/N: *skis in a month and a half later than wanted with a too-short chapter* How 'bout them Olympics, huh?**

 ** _Hal_ : Thanks, dude. **

**_ImAGuest_ : Better late than never? Yeah, they'll probably confiscate the other stuff.**

 **You may have noticed I've switched to replying to user reviews via pm (Thanks, Fun Filled Frost!). So, uh, don't expect anything else anytime soon, it's way too late (which is why some of this may seem off) and I'm still having massive writer's block for this story.**

 **I want to give you all cake or something for keeping up with this story, despite my chaotic bouts of not existing. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, followed, and favorited. For those of you who are new, welcome aboard this crazy train-wreck of a fic.**

 **Until next time!**


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